Atletico Madrid CEO Cerezo sparked controversy when he claimed that Arda Turan wanted to move to England but that leading Turkish companies forced his transfer to Barcelona.

Turkish newspaper AMK quotes Cerezo as saying: “Arda wanted to move to England but the transfer held commercial value. Arda is an idol in Turkey and some powerful groups wanted him at Barcelona.”

Cerezo’s comments regarding Turan wanting to sign for a Premier League side make sense when you consider his agent Ahmet Bulut clearly stated the bearded winger would play in England.

Turan was expected to join Premier League giants Chelsea or Manchester United following Bulut revealing he was in talks with three English clubs.

“He intends to leave Spain this summer. It is his will to go out to play in the Premiership, that is where he would like to continue his career at this time,” Bulut told AS.

“His departure from Atletico is not easy because he has a clause of €41m. There are ongoing talks with three teams at the moment. I cannot say their names, but they are the best of England and European football.”

Turan signed for Barcelona on a £24 million transfer from Atleti last week despite the La Liga champions still serving a transfer ban until January.

The Turkish international is however, expected to be loaned out for the first half of the season.

“This is a possibility but the final decision must be made by coach Luis Enrique and it must be a purely technical decision,” Bartomeu told RAC 1.

“It must be a team not playing in the Champions League.”

The Express have linked Liverpool and Tottenham as being interested in a loan move. United could still be in the running to bring in Turan on a temporary move if they do not qualify for the Champions League group stages.

Barcelona have sponsorship deals with Turkish companies Lassa and Beko. The Champions League holders also have close ties with Turkish Airlines.

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