Orlando City, Besiktas reach transfer deal for Cyle Larin

After a weeks-long back and forth between Orlando City, Turkish club Besiktas and Cyle Larin, a transfer deal has been reached.

Orlando City announced the news in a statement Tuesday afternoon, "After recognizing the existence of a valid contract, Besiktas J.K. has agreed with Orlando City SC on terms for the transfer of forward Cyle Larin to the Turkish side for an undisclosed fee."

Larin is the Lions all-time leading scorer with 43 goals, but made it clear he wanted to explore his options in Europe following the 2017 season. He then appeared in a Besiktas jersey in a tweet from the club on January 13th.

Orlando City immediately issued a statement making it clear that Larin was still under contract and no transfer deal was in place.

A week later, Larin appeared on video training with Besiktas. That once again elicited a response from Orlando City that no transfer deal was in place.

Despite the deal being finalized on Tuesday, Orlando City's statement shows they were unhappy with the way everything was handled. "Although the Club was disappointed with the unacceptable behavior of the athlete and his representatives, a decision was taken to guarantee compensation with the Club’s future in mind."

Cox Media Group