Sometimes players don’t know just how good they’ve got it.

Arda Turan is a classic example.

It was Diego Simeone who transformed the Turkey international into a top-class attacking midfielder during their time working together at Atletico Madrid.

At his peak, Arda was widely regarded as one of Spanish football’s best attacking players.

He won La Liga with Atletico, plus the Copa del Rey and the Europa League, and helped the club reach the final of the Champions League in 2014 - although he missed the showpiece match against local rivals Real Madrid through injury.

Arda left Atletico because he had to run a lot

But in his fourth and final season with Los Colchoneros, Arda decided that he could no longer handle the physical demands placed on him by Simeone.

Per an article published in Marca back in June 2015, the Turk decided to leave the Vicente Calderon because he was fed up with doing so much running, both during matches and in training.

He landed a dream move to Barcelona, who forked out £24 million for his services, as if joining the Catalan giants would somehow result in him doing less running.

That he was unable to play for his new employers for the first six months after arriving at the Camp Nou - Barça has been slapped with a registration ban - certainly didn’t help matters.

But if he genuinely believed that being at Barcelona would be a walk in the park compared to life under Simeone at the Calderon, he had another thing coming.

Arda has agreed deal with new club - but it's a step down

Arda’s stock has fallen dramatically over the past two-and-a-half years, He hasn’t made a single appearance for Barça this season and it now seems certain that he’s played his final match for the La Liga leaders.

According to Marca, the 30-year-old has agreed to sign for Basaksehir.

Not exactly Barcelona, you have to say. However, the Istanbul outfit are riding high at the top of the Turkish league as things stand, ahead of Galatasaray and Fenerbahce.

All going well, Arda could finish the campaign with a league winners’ medal and find himself playing in the Champions League next season.

Basaksehir are expected to sign the player on a season-and-a-half long loan deal, with a view to making the transfer permanent in the summer of 2019, while only paying half of his wages.

Barça would prefer to offload Arda on a permanent transfer but it seems Basaksehir are unable to pay the asking price and the player’s wage demands in full.

In any case, it marks a rather dramatic fall from a grace for a man who might still be considered one of Europe’s best players had he stayed with Simeone at Atletico.