Barca double down on Dembele and tell him to get out
Robin Bairner
- 27 Jan 2022 10:58 GMT
- 3 min read
Barcelona have once again told Ousmane Dembele to leave the club before the January transfer deadline.
There has been an increasingly public war between the player and Barca over the France star’s contract extension.
Dembele has asked for a lavish new deal, which Barcelona are not prepared to give him. Equally, though, the Catalans are not willing to lose him for nothing given that they spent €105 million to sign him from Borussia Dortmund in 2017.
That, though, is the way things are heading with less than a week left in the window for Barcelona to find a buyer for Dembele.
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Fresh talks were held on Wednesday between Dembele’s representatives and Barcelona, with further controversy sparked when agent Moussa Sissoko arrived at the airport and was pictured fielding a call from a number that came up as ‘Leonardo PSG’ on his phone screen.
Dembele’s entourage met with Barcelona head coach Xavi and technical director Jordi Cruyff and told the Catalans that the player’s goal is to continue at Camp Nou.
Barcelona, according to Sky Sports, doubled down on their stance, telling Dembele either to sign the deal that he has been offered or to leave the club.
Where could Dembele go?
There are few clubs in a position to sign Dembele during January, with Barcelona’s issue that those teams who can afford him not in the market for that type of player.
PSG, of course, are linked with the winger, but with Neymar, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe all on their books have no need for immediate offensive reinforcement.
From England, meanwhile, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City could all match his wages but have no apparent interest in making a January move.
Barcelona have told Dembele that he will be frozen out of their plans in the second half of the season if the status quo remains, though with fellow forward Ansu Fati projected to miss two months, this is not a situation that would appear to suit anyone.
