Arda Turan has revealed that he never had any intention of returning to his former club Galatasaray on loan.
The new Barcelona midfielder is ineligible to play for the current La Liga champions until the New Year due to an ongoing transfer ban, with a loan move to Turkey mooted as a possibility to give Turan some game time.
However, the £24m signing from Atletico Madrid reveals that the rumoured loan move was never an option in the first place.
"Galatasaray didn't try to take me on loan," the 28-year-old told reporters at an event in Istanbul on Saturday.
"To do that, they would have spent all of the money which they have reserved for the youth team and I don't want Galatasaray to spend a lot of money on me.
"Besides, Luis Enrique wants me to continue in Barcelona and be close to the team."
Turan emerged through the Turkish club's youth ranks before joining Atletico in 2011.
Sam McEvoy
