Arda Guler joins Real Madrid after ‘rejecting’ a move to Barcelona
Turkish wonderkid Arda Guler will join Real Madrid this summer after rejecting a move to Barcelona. The midfielder will sign a six-year contract.
Los Blancos will pay €20 million fixed fee instead of €17.5 million, which was his release clause, 20% sell-on clause and extra add-ons in the ‘package deal’ plus taxes. When Madrid presented their project, Guler decided to join them instead of Barcelona.
The player is also regarded as ‘The Turkish Messi’. Along with Real Madrid and Barcelona, clubs like Liverpool, Arsenal, Aston Villa and Borussia Dortmund were also interested to sign the youngster. The 18-year-old scored six goals and had seven assists last season in 35 appearances.
Fenerbahce president Ali Koc has also confirmed that Guler will not stay at the club next season.
Ali Koc said, “After it becomes clear under what conditions he will leave, I will make the necessary explanations. Arda will not be in Fenerbahce next season.”
Real Madrid sign the ‘next Mesut Ozil’ in Arda Guler
The youngster is compared to former Real Madrid and Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil, both players have similar style of play and are left-footed midfielders.
The 2014 World Cup winner said, “Is there a number 10 better than me? I can think of a name, I have a brother that I believe in, may God protect him from the evil eye, his name is Arda Güler.
Ozil and Guler have also played alongside each other in Fenerbahce. It also reported that Ozil told Guler to join Real Madrid instead of Barcelona.
Fenerbahce president Ali Koc ‘angry’ with Guler’s move to Madrid
Deco met with Ali Koc and Guler’s family to explain Barcelona’s project. Fenerbahce’s President also accepted Barca’s deferred payments for Arda Guler.
They were happy that Barcelona would give them Guler for one more season on loan, but the player had the last word, and the Turkish club had to concede.
Furthermore, this made Ali Koc furious with Guler after he chose Real Madrid as his next club. The Los Blancos are financially much stronger than Barca. Moreover, they were also ready to sign him for the first team for 2023/24 season.
Nevertheless, with midfielders like, Bellingham, Camavinga, Tchouameni, and Valverde and veterans like Kroos and Modric already ahead of him, it is clear that Guler will get close to nothing in terms of minutes on the field.
