Arda Turan's Barça dream is over

The story of Arda Turan in Barcelona is one of those stories of broken hearts, unfulfilled dreams and frustrated desires. A story that began five years ago, and that has ended with the Turkish falling into oblivion. 

In the summer of 2015, Arda Turan said goodbye to Atletico Madrid. He did so after ending a difficult season, when Real Madrid ended up eliminating Atletico from the UCL once again. 

He said he was going to Barcelona to fulfill a dream, to win the Champions League. How ironic is that the closest he came to achieving this was when he was still playing for Atletico. 

He increased his list of honours at Barcelona, but his contribution was no more than testimonial. He spent just two seasons, performing well below expectations, being a shadow of the Arda Turan that became a legend at Atletico Madrid.

In his two years in the Barça, Arda won LaLiga, two Copa del Rey, a Super Cup of Spain and another one of Europe, although for this one he was not even registered. Barcelona was sanctioned and could not make its debut until January 2016.

In his first season, which was only average because of the sanction, he played 25 games, but only 13 as a starter. He never enjoyed the confidence of Luis Enrique, and the situation did not improve in his second season.

In this one, because of injuries, he played 30 games, less than half of the total. And when it seemed that, without Luis Enrique, the Turkish player would gain prominence, Valverde arrived and continued down the same path. 

He was taken out of the team and in January he went to Turkey, on loan to Istanbul Basaksehir.

He left Barcelona without fulfilling his dream of winning the Champions League (although Barça didn't win it without him either), with 55 matches played, 33 as a starter, in which he scored 15 goals and gave ten assists.

His stay in Turkey gives for a separate chapter. 

Last January, Istanbul Basaksehir terminated his contract and returned to Barcelona, although the club did not want him. He stayed in Istanbul, patiently waiting for the 30th of June to be free again, and to start again at 33, after putting an end to a dream that ended up becoming a surreal nightmare.