Why ‘outraged’ Barca believe Dembele has signed for Man Utd or Juve

Robin Bairner

2 Feb 2022 08:51 GMT
3 min read

Ousmane Dembele playing for Barcelona against Sevilla, 2021/22 — © ProShots

Ousmane Dembele remains at Barcelona, despite the Catalan side making no secret of their desire to sell the former Borussia Dortmund winger during the January transfer window.

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Dembele’s contract at Barcelona expires at the end of June, at which point he will become a free agent and therefore able to sign to a rival club, with absolutely nothing owed to the Camp Nou outfit.

With the winger having repeated refused Barca’s offers of a new contract, having demanded terms that the Europa League contenders see as outlandish, there has been a public war between the two parties.

This concluded with Barcelona indicating publicly that it was their desire to sell Dembele in January.

There were, however, no takers for the attacker. A combination of his high wages and the player’s dreadful injury record plus the fact that many of Europe’s best clubs are already amply stocked offensively meant that there was little prospect of a deal being done.

In the summer, however, the situation will shift. No transfer fee for the player lessens the risk of any deal, while Dembele, who is still only 24, could be integrated into a new project as a central player.

Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea have been widely linked as teams interested in the wide player, yet Sport suggests that Barca believe a deal has been done with another party.

Dembele to Man Utd a done deal?

Ousmane Dembele playing against Benfica in the Champions League — © ProShots

It is reported that PSG, Chelsea and Tottenham all made approaches for Dembele late in the January transfer window, only for the player to reject all three clubs. The club was left “absolutely outraged” that he flatly rejected them, with no negotiations taking place.

Barcelona believe this was done because Dembele has already struck an agreement with a rival club. They suspect that Man Utd, who did not even make a January approach for the player, or Juventus is the team he will wind up at.

Indeed, it was the inactivity of Man Utd on this case that is said to have surprised Barca the most. The Red Devils have previously tried to sign the player in each of the last two summers, and he would have been a logical addition given Mason Greenwood’s current off-field issues that have led to him being suspended by the club.

Dembele, meanwhile, remains at Barcelona, where he is unlikely to have a big role before the end of the season.