Barcelona resigned to losing Ousmane Dembele
Paul Macdonald
- 24 May 2022 08:00 BST
- 3 min read
Barcelona are increasingly resigned to the fact that winger Ousmane Dembele will leave the club on a free transfer when his contract expires in July.
The Frenchman made his 150th appearance for the club in the 2-0 defeat to Villarreal on Sunday, a relatively modest total for a player who has spent five seasons at Camp Nou, and was signed for a huge €140m fee.
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Injuries have blighted much of his spell at Camp Nou and this season he was able to play just 1,798 minutes in the league.
Coach Xavi initially was deliberating over even tabling a new offer for the 25-year-old, considering the club's economic situation coupled with his unreliability from a fitness perspective.
But his performances in the second half of the season convinced the former midfielder that he should part of his plans going forward, and a contract extension with laid down to Dembele and his agent.
However, negotiations have been tense between club and player for some time, with Dembele's demands thought to be too expensive for Barcelona, who are currently over €1.2 Billion in debt.
And it appears now that the Catalans have accepted their fate, and that Dembele will walk away for free on June 30, when his current deal ends.
Ousmane Dembele transfer interest
PSG are the prime candidates for Dembele's signature; Kylian Mbappe, who has just signed his new incredible contract in the French capital, is a close friend of Dembele and would be keen to team up with him.
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And PSG's situation means they are currently leaving scorched Earth across Europe, with seemingly every player looking to either leave or negotiate a better deal at their current employer using PSG as a bargaining tool.
Xavi admitted after the match against Villarreal that he was unsure if Dembele would ever play another match for the club, and it appears that he is now planning for the future without the former Borussia Dortmund wide man.
