Barcelona president Joan Laporta has spoken on why Barcelona decided to pull out from the race to sign Arda Guler from Turkish Super Lig giants Fenerbahce.

Barcelona were reportedly ahead of Real Madrid, rumours had claimed. But it was the Los Blancos who eventually sealed the deal.

Speaking on their failed attempt, Laporta said: “We moved away from the Guler operation because of the magnitude it was reaching. We thought it would be a mistake on our part.

“There are more players that I think we can get without entering such a bidding war. We could have come to compete for Guler, but we decided not to.

“We have a certain line and we don’t cross it. Neither with Arda nor with other players who want to come to Barca.”