As the Turkey midfielder prepares to move back to his homeland, Goal takes a look at some of the least successful buys in Blaugrana history
Getty ImagesArda Turan
The Turkey midfielder arrived at Barca in the summer of 2015 for a fee of €34 million, but had to wait six months for his debut as the Catalans were banned by FIFA from registering new players for a year due to irregularities in the recruitment of youngsters.
The 30-year-old has made only 55 appearances since then, each one costing the club around €1m when the transfer fee and his wages are taken into account.
He has not played a single minute this season and after all the excitement when he arrived, Barca fans will now he happy to see him leave, as he moves closer to a return to his homeland this month.
AdvertisementGettyDmytro Chygrnskiy
A strange signing by Barcelona in 2009, Dmytro Chygrynskiy spent just one season at the Catalan club, and it was a disappointing one for the Ukrainian international.
After arduous negotiations with Shakhtar Donetsk, Barca completed a €25m deal for the centre-back in the summer of 2009 and his last game was a UEFA Super Cup loss against the Catalan club he would later join.
But he made only 14 appearances for Barca's first team and was sold back to Shakhtar for €15m in the summer of 2010 as incoming president Sandro Rosell insisted the club needed the money to pay debts incurred during Joan Laporta's tenure – even though coach Pep Guardiola had wanted to keep the defender.
Getty ImagesAlex Song
In the summer of 2012, Barcelona were looking for a player who could operate as a defensive midfielder and also as a centre-back. And after baulking at the €40m asking price of Athletic Club's Javi Martinez, they signed Alex Song from Arsenal.
However, a disastrous display by the Cameroonian in defence proved he would not be very useful in that position and he did not seem suited to Barca's playing style in midfield either as some of their worst performances came when he was in the team.
He then embarrassed himself in Barca's title celebrations by stepping forward to claim the Liga trophy from captain Carles Puyol when the Catalan had been beckoning Eric Abidal instead. After two seasons, Song left to join West Ham.
GettyAlex Hleb
Alex Hleb joined Barca for €17m in the summer of 2008 and although he did make a number of first-team appearances for the Catalan club, he did not really play much of a part in the team's treble triumph that season.
The Belarus midfielder had impressed in his three seasons at Arsenal, but his 36 appearances for Barca were quickly forgotten and he failed to score in his time at Camp Nou.
He was later loaned to Stuttgart, Birmingham and Wolfsburg – and was last seen in the Russian Premier League.