Turan returning to Barcelona from Basaksehir

Istanbul (AFP) – Turkish international Arda Turan ended his loan spell with Basaksehir Istanbul on Tuesday and will return to Barcelona after two years marked by violence on and off the pitch.

“During a meeting yesterday, our player Arda Turan asked approval from our president Goksel Gumusdag to leave to write a new chapter in his career,” the club said in a statement, adding that Gumusdag approved the request.

Turan, 32, joined Basaksehir in January 2018 on loan from Barcelona where he had struggled to impose himself since leaving from Atletico Madrid in 2016.

He made only 39 appearances for the Super Lig club, who failed to lift any trophies during his stint with the team.

One of Turkey’s best-known sportsmen and a strong supporter of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the midfielder lately made more headlines for his violent antics.

Turan was given a 16-match suspension after shoving and verbally abusing a referee in May 2018.

In September, he received a suspended sentence of almost three years over a brawl involving a famous singer at an Istanbul nightclub.