Turan: Maradona, Iniesta my idols

New Barcelona signing Arda Turan says that teammate Andres Iniesta is one of his two footballing idols, alongside Diego Maradona.

The 28-year-old has this week become the Catalan giants’ latest signing and will be officially presented to the media as a Barca player at a Press conference tomorrow.

“Being part of FC Barcelona means a lot,” Turan told the Camp Nou club’s official website following his move from Atletico Madrid. “My dream, the reward for the work I have done and the culmination of my career. It means everything.

“My idol has always been Maradona, but out of the current players it’s obvious that it is Iniesta.”

The Turkish international then went on to express his belief in his own capabilities to do well at his new club, as well as paying tribute to Barca’s ‘values.’

“I am preparing for the challenge that it is to play for Barca. I believe in my own and my teammates’ capabilities a lot.

“I am sure that my teammates will give me a lot of help to adapt.

“It’s clear that they (the values) make Barca different from other teams. These values on and off the pitch are the system, the image and the style of play. In summary, Barca are a team on and off the pitch.

“My aim was to play here, because it suits my philosophy of never giving up, to always believe in yourself and the team, and to fight until the end.

“I will give my best to adapt to this system and to improve day after day.”

Finally, Turan stated that though he has set himself no individual targets at Camp Nou, he believes he will contribute more goals and assists at his new club owing to the quality of his teammates around him.

 “My targets are not individual ones and not to improve on my previous stats, but in this team with these players and this system I am sure I can do a lot more and improve my numbers a lot.

“What is truly important is to integrate myself into the team and Luis Enrique’s system.”

Tags Arda Turan
La Liga - Club News