Marca: Arda Turan was close to leaving Barcelona in January

Barcelona's Arda Turan was about to leave the club in the winter transfer window, according to a report in Marca on Thursday.

The Madrid-based newspaper claim that the Catalan club received an offer of 50 million euros from China for the player. However, it was Luis Enrique who refused to let the player leave. 

The club wouldn't have minded an injection of 50 million, but the interests and the planning on the sporting side of things prevailed. Luis Enrique, as on previous occasions, was in opposition to the Turkish international's sale and wanted to keep him in the squad.

As for Arda, he was not happy with his role in the team and was looking to play a bigger part. For that reason, he allowed his people to listen to offers, according to Marca.

The offer from China was worth 17 million to the player, while at Barça he gets five million annualy. However, playing at the highest level remains important to him, which is why he did not look to force the move through.