Arda Turan has made it clear that he has not joined Barcelona to replace Xavi Hernandez after being officially unveiled on Friday.
The Turkish midfielder completed a €41m switch to La Blaugrana from Atletico Madrid last week, subject to whether the club’s new board wish to keep him, and he admitted he did not have to think twice about their offer.
“I’m happy to come to the best club in the world. I’ll try to give the best I’ve got,” he said, as per Barca’s official Twitter feed.
“Those who know me know that I’ve dreamt of playing for Barca since I was a kid.
“I received lots of offers, but when I heard from Barca I pushed all the others aside.
“Nobody can take Xavi’s place because he’s one of a kind in the world of football. He’ll always be a symbol of Barca.
“I’ve always liked having to really fight in order to win; I think here people will see the best Arda.
“I don’t think that anyone has ever been like, nor will anyone ever be like, Messi.
“I don’t care about my shirt number. I’ll decide that after talking to my new teammates.”
