Miralem Pjanic, Barcelona's New Victim To Reduce Debt

JAKARTA - Barcelona have announced the loan of Miralem Pjanic to Turkish league club Besiktas on Friday.

The loan is in line with Barcelona's efforts to continue to trim their squad in order to reduce the financial burden.

Pjanic follows in the footsteps of Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann, Ilaix Moriba, and many others who left Camp Nou as the Catalan club seeks to ease wage spending and reduce debt.

Cited from Antara, the 31-year-old midfielder has only spent one season in Spain after signing from Juventus last summer.

Besiktas announced on their official website that they will pay 2.7 million euros to secure the player's services.

"Don't Panic, we have Miralem Pjanic!" Besiktas wrote on their Twitter account announcing the transfer on Friday.

The loan will run until next June.

The Bosnian international made just six starts in La Liga last season as injury problems and poor form prevented him from being included in Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman's plans.

However, his contribution in Serie A prior to joining Barcelona was significant, and Besiktas hopes he can return to the level he played with Juventus.