Barcelona willing to sell Arda Turan to Guangzhou Evergrande if Chinese club can come up with £26m

Turan was signed by Barcelona for £29m from Atletico Madrid in 2014. He spent the first four months watching from the sidelines because of a ban on registering players.

When he eventually made his debut, his first half-season was disappointing and there was little improvement in his second campaign.

This year he has impressed when he has played but a mega-offer will not be turned down because, as well as bringing Barcelona an immediate economic boost, it would also trim their wage bill.

Turan's earnings per season with bonuses could rise to £7m over each of the next three seasons. It is Barcelona's crippling wage bill that handicaps them as they look to tie down Messi without breaking their own rules on the proportion of income they spend on wages.

Turan's agent Ahmet Bulut is understood to have been in Barcelona last week to communicate to the club and player the interest from Guanzhou.

It remains to be seen if the player will accept putting an end to his career in top European football and if the Chinese side can meet Barcelona's asking price.