(Football news) Ousmane Dembele faces a very tricky situation after contract talks with Barcelona have completely broken down. Dembele has been troubled by constant injury problems ever since his big money move to FC Barcelona. Now in the final few months of his contract, the Frenchman is on his way out.
Barcelona signed Dembele from Borussia Dortmund for a reported €105 million plus €40 million add-ons. He was signed to replace Neymar Jr but never managed to live up to it. Constant injuries have troubled him a lot and the Nou Camp has never seen him at his full potential. Dembele returned to full fitness in November last year and got a run of games in a row. Barcelona were quick to offer him a contract extension. President Joan Laporta publicly stated that Dembele is a better player than Kylian Mbappe.
Ousmane Dembele rejected not one but multiple offers from Barcelona. It was reported that the Frenchman and his camp felt that the offer was not good enough. Before Barcelona's Copa del Rey clash against Athletic Club, club director Mateu Alemany came out and said "The reality is that we began negotiations with his agents five months ago. During this time there has been continuous communication in which the club's position has been to want him to continue"
"Different offers have been made to him, we worked really hard and put in a lot of effort, we have done enough for the player to consider what he has to do with his future. We are 11 days away from the closing of the transfer window and we understand that… the player has decided not to continue and what we want are players committed to Barca. Both for his sake and for the club he has to leave as soon as possible." said Alemany.
One perspective is that if Laporta thinks that Dembele is better than Mbappe then why isn't he ready to pay him as much as Mbappe. The other is that Dembele hasn't performed at the top level and has been injured too many times to ask for a bumper contract. Selling Dembele and using the money to reinforce in the summer might be the best thing to do right now. Otherwise they risk losing him for free in the summer.
There are only 10 days left before the end of the winter transfer window. It will be very difficult for Barcelona as well as the player's agent to find a new club and his injury record doesn't make it any easier. PSG and Chelsea are amongst the clubs linked with the speedstar. It will be bad news for both player and club if a transfer isn't completed before the deadline.
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