The party which Barcelona midfielder Arda Turan is still paying for
What happened and why has the Turkish international fallen out of favour recently?
It was Oct. 20. Luis Suarez spent the afternoon at the Damm Factory in Barcelona collecting his European Golden Shoe award from his children. Some players, such as the captains -- Messi, Iniesta and Busquets -- accompanied him to the event.
Other squad memebers didn't, but they were invited to a private dinner later in the day to celebrate the achievement.
The next day, Oct. 21, Luis Enrique had a training session planned ahead of the game against Valencia. Arda Turan missed the trip to Mestalla because of an "elbow" problem, according to the club. Rafinha was also absent with an injury. Carles Aleña and Aleix Vidal were called up instead. Barça beat Valencia thanks to a penalty from Leo Messi in stoppage time.
Until then, Arda had played 65 percent of minutes. He's played in 11 of 13 games and had scored five goals. He was important. Since then, Arda's played in 29 percent of minutes and has featured in five out of nine games, scoring no goals. He's played just two complete games, one of them against Hercules. He's become less important.
What happened on the night of Suarez's Golden Shoe dinner to change Arda's ranking in the hierarchy?
Some club officials know what had happened at that dinner/celebration and they say that Turan "exceeded more than should have." And the next day he was not in the squad, protected by an injury that did not exist. Arda has fallen out of favor.
