The long wait is finally over as Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal have now both been officially registered as Barcelona players and received their player numbers.
Barcelona shirt manufacturers Nike marked the event by producing a 47 second clip of Turan and Vidal in their brand new shirts alongside the caption ‘Football Needs Numbers Numbers Needs Football’.
Turan replaced Pedro’s old number seven also previously worn by Luis Figo and Henrik Larsson while Vidal was given the number 22 shirt.
Turan and Vidal actually joined back over the summer but due to the FIFA transfer ban imposed on the club the two players could not actually be registered until today.
Barcelona boss Luis Enrique decided to keep both players at the club instead of letting them leave on loan to keep match fitness. Enrique urged Turan and Vidal to stay in order to adapt to the playing style and philosophy of the club.
The registration process went through successfully at the Spanish Football Federation headquarters and both players will be eligible to make their debut against Espanyol on Wednesday 6 January in the Spanish Cup Last 16 first-leg.
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