Dembele was told to leave Barcelona ‘as soon as possible’
Ousmane Dembele’s agent Moussa Sissoko appeared to inadvertently show that he was receiving a call from Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Leonardo after arriving in Barcelona.
Sissoko was filmed by Spanish television cameras as he left the airport and with his phone in his hand, a closer look shows the screen lighting up with an incoming call.
After zooming in on his phone, El Chringuito TVÂ show the words ‘Leonardo PSG’ on the screen.
It comes amid a contract stand-off between Dembele and Barcelona, with the Frenchman in the final few months of his contract with the Catalan giants.
Last week, it was reported that the 24-year-old was told to leave Barcelona ‘as soon as possible’ and was left out of their squad for the Round of 16 Copa del Rey clash against Athletic Bilbao.
🚨 Moussa Sissoko, Ousmane Dembélé’s agent, accidentally or not, shows the cameras he is getting a call from PSG SD Leonardo, as he arrives in Barcelona.
— Sam C (@SamC_reports) January 26, 2022
Director of football Mateu Alemany also criticised Dembele for a lack of commitment to the club.
“We understand Dembele’s decision is to not continue (at Barca) and we’ve communicated our decision (to leave him out),” Alemany said.
“We want players that are committed to the club and we have told him he has to leave the club as soon as possible.
“We started talks in July. We have made several offers, which were all rejected. He has been told that he must leave the club, he is not committed to the project.”
👀 pic.twitter.com/7RKZx6V6P1
— FCB World (@forcabarca_ar) January 26, 2022
In response to Alemany’s comments, Sissoko hit out at Barcelona by claiming they are driving Dembele away from Spain.
Sissoko said: “They’re putting the pressure on, but it doesn’t work with people like us. Maybe it works with agents who are close to Barcelona. That’s not the case with me, I’m here to defend my player’s interests.
“We’re not here to react to debates on social media, but the truth has to be said. Yes, we have high demands, but we’ve shown in the past that Ousmane’s career choices are not dictated by money, else he wouldn’t be here.
“Then, if Barcelona wanted to negotiate, they could have come to the table with us to talk.
“Except there are no discussions and there are threats coming from them that he won’t play. That’s not allowed. We will exercise Ousmane Dembele’s rights if necessary.
“We don’t know what we’re going to do, nothing is decided. But the management are losing Ousmane by themselves.
“From the start, we’ve shown that we wanted to negotiate, with terms, but without closing the door.”
Dembele joined Barcelona in 2017 from Borussia Dortmund for £96million, but he has struggled to maintain fitness and has made just 82 starts for the club.
Related links:
- Barcelona willing to take €100m loss on Ousmane Dembélé, according to reports
- Ousmane Dembele breaks silence on Barcelona transfer speculation
- Xavi left ‘nearly speechless’ after seeing Dembele wage demands
