Barcelona signs Turkey international midfielder Arda

The Spanish and European champions FC Barcelona announced on Monday that it agreed to sign a five-year contract with the 28-year-old Turkish playmaker from La Liga rivals Atletico Madrid.

"Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have reached an agreement for the transfer of ... Arda Turan," Barca said in a statement.

Barca will pay an initial fee of 34 million euros for Arda, plus another seven million variables, the club said on their website.

Turan will not be able to play for the club until January, as Barca has been banned by FIFA from registering new players are until 2016, after they broke FIFA rules on the transfer of foreign players aged under 18.

Both FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid announced Arda's transfer on their twitter account with two different photographs of the midfielder.

In their twitter post Barca said, “@fcbarcelona announce the signing of @ArdaTuran10line Welcome Arda!", publishing a photograph of Arda with their jersey and writing “Hoşgeldin Arda, the Turkish version of Welcome Arda.

The Turkish rising star has been a key player in Diego Simeone's Atletico field in recent seasons after being transferred to the Spanish club from Turkey's Galatasaray in 2011.

Arda made his debut for Turkey in 2006 and helped Fatih Terim's side reached the semi-finals of Euro 2008, where they lost 3-2 to Germany.

In his past four seasons in the Spanish capital, Arda became a hugely popular figure with the Atletico fans.

With his ability to unlock stubborn defenses with a killer pass, the stocky and heavily-bearded midfielder was a key figure in Atletico's charge to a first La Liga title in 18 years and their run to the Champions League final in 2013-14.