Barca Presidential Hopeful Criticizes Turan Deal

ESPN reports that Barcelona presidential candidate Joan Laporta has openly criticized the club’s managing committee after it agreed to sign Arda Turan from Atletico Madrid before thepresidential election takes place on July 18. While Josep Maria Bartomeu, who has stepped down as president ahead of his bid for re-election, said earlier this month that coach LuisEnrique had requested the player and that his board had left the matter in “an advanced state” before stepping down, Laporta, who held the presidency between 2003 and 2010, claims thatBarca only made a move for Turan to “cover up the ridiculousness” of its failure to sign Paul Pogba from Juventus, saying that no transfer business should be conducted before July 19.