Dembele happy to sit on the bench & leave for NOTHING
FT Desk
- 18 Jan 2022 10:30 GMT
- 3 min read
Ousmane Dembele is refusing to be swayed by Barcelona’s threats of never playing him again unless he signs a new contract, according to SER Catalunya.
Dembele is prepared to sit on the bench for the rest of the season and then join a club on a Bosman Transfer in the summer.
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At the weekend, reports emerged that Barcelona had instructed Dembele that he wouldn’t play for them again after the club indefinitely ended contract renewal talks.
That was according to respected Barcelona journalist Gerard Romero, who reported that the Blaugrana have informed the player that their contract renewal offer has been withdrawn and that he will not play for the club again.
This was seen as a threat to either force Dembele into signing a new deal or into leaving the club for a transfer fee this month.
But SER Catalunya say that Dembele is not being swayed by these threats and would be prepared to see out the rest of the campaign without playing, meaning Barca will lose him for nothing.
When does Dembele’s contract expire?
Dembele’s contract at Camp Nou expires at the end of June and Barcelona had been very keen for the winger to renew.
Manager Xavi and president Joan Laporta have regularly praised Dembele in recent months and urged him to pen a new deal.
However, negotiations suddenly ground to a halt at the turn of the year.
It was recently reported by L’Equipe that Dembele was demanding a financial package worth an incredible €240 million in order to sign a new contract at Barcelona.
Dembele was requesting a contract worth €40m per year gross for five seasons.
He is also demanding a €40m signing-on fee.
Romero has confirmed that the overall €240m figure is accurate, although he differs in how the €40m worth of add-ons are divided.
Dembele is unhappy that Barcelona were offering him a contract at much-reduced wages while at the same time putting together a huge economic deal in order to sign Ferran Torres from Man City for €55m plus €10m in add-ons.
A host of Premier League clubs are interested in signing Dembele, as are PSG and Juventus.
Dembele joined Barcelona for €105m plus €40m in add-ons from Borussia Dortmund in 2017, but has been a major disappointment due to a host of injuries.
