Rustu signed a four-year contract with the Catalan club and claimed, "I've been a fan of Barca since I was seven years old. It has always been my second team, I'm just sorry it has taken me so long to start playing here."

Journalists at the official presentation were mildly sceptical at his claims of long-time loyalty but it will have done him no harm with the notoriously partisan Barca fans.

Rustu knows all about passionate fans as he was dragged from his car by Fenerbahce fans after a Cup defeat and was lucky to escape with his life.

Rustu caught the eye with his exploits between the posts which helped Turkey finish in an unprecedented third place at last summer's World Cup in Korea and Japan.

He was the first acquisition for new president Joan Laporta, who is trying to put behind him the embarrassment over his attempted signing of England captain David Beckham.

Laporta said during last month's elections for the Barcelona presidency he had agreed terms with Manchester United over the transfer of Beckham but the player turned him down flat and opted to sign for bitter rivals Real Madrid.

Rustu, 30, arrived at the Catalan club for free as he had come to the end of his contract at Fenerbahce in his native Turkey.

In his nine years at Fenerbahce, he won two Turkish league titles and he has also played 82 times for his national team.

Among the first to welcome Rustu was his fellow Turkish international Tayfun Korkut, who signed for local rivals Espanyol from Real Sociedad last month.

"I think he's one of the top five goalkeepers in the world and I've no doubt he'll triumph at Barca," said his fellow Turk on Tuesday.

"I played with him for five seasons at Fenerbahce so I know him well and he's a good friend.

"I don't think there is any goalkeeper in the world who is quicker off his line than Rustu. I think the Barca fans are going to take him to their hearts."

Rustu's arrival coincided with Laporta announcing on Tuesday that current Barcelona goalkeepers Roberto Bonano and Roberto Enke were up for sale.

New coach Frank Rijkaard is expected to clear out further remnants of the previous regimes in his bid to return Barca to its former glory.

Barcelona finished sixth last season and scraped into the UEFA Cup on the final weekend, but spent the first half of the season languishing in the lower reaches of the table.