Dembélé has been told he can leave Barcelona
Barcelona are willing to entertain offers in the region of €20m (£16.7m) for Ousmane Dembélé after the two parties failed to come to an agreement on a new contract.
The Catalan club told the Frenchman that they would be looking to sell the 24-year-old before his current runs out at the end of the season.
Worried they may lose him for nothing in the summer, Le Parisien are reporting that the perennially well-run Catalan club are keen to recoup some of the £135m they paid for him in 2017 as they look to get him off the wage bill.
Barcelona are seeking €20m in order to sell Ousmane Dembélé this month, according to Le Parisien. More follows.
— Get French Football News (@GFFN) January 21, 2022
Talks between the two parties broke down after Dembélé was reportedly looking for wages around £700,000-a-week, however the club are unable to satisfy those demands due to their current financial position.
The winger recently took to Instagram following the news that Barça would not be renewing his deal, insisting he ‘will not give up’ while he remains at the La Liga giants.
Barcelona’s director of football Mateu Alemany meanwhile came out in support of manager Xavi’s decision to not renew the contract.
“With Ousmane and his agent we began [contract] conversations around July so it’s been six months and a bit,” he said, as per the BBC.
“We’ve talked, we’ve talked, we’ve talked. Barca has made different offers.
“We’ve tried to find a way for the player to continue with us but these offers have been systematically rejected by his agents.
“In this scenario he and his agents have been informed that he must leave immediately because we want players committed to this project and therefore we hope that a transfer will take place before January 31.”
It remains to be seen where Dembélé will end up in the coming weeks or months with the likes of Newcastle United and Liverpool linked with moves.
Recent links have also speculated about a move to Stamford Bridge where he could be reunited with Thomas Tuchel – who was in charge while Dembélé was at Borussia Dortmund.
Related links:
- Ousmane Dembele breaks silence on Barcelona transfer speculation
- Xavi left ‘nearly speechless’ after seeing Dembele wage demands
- Xavi growing tired of Ousmane Dembélé’s ‘lack of professionalism’ at Barcelona
