Dembele PSG-bound amid Barcelona ultimatum?
FT Desk
- 25 May 2022 16:04 BST
- 3 min read
Ousmane Dembele could be on the way out of Barcelona - Paris Saint-Germain a possible destination - with club president Joan Laporta growing tired of the winger's contract demands.
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Dembele, who arrived at Camp Nou from Borussia Dortmund in 2017 in a deal worth €105 million rising to €150m, had previously fallen out of favour but he has enjoyed a second wind under Xavi, ending the current campaign with 13 assists from 21 La Liga games.
It was a remarkable turnaround for the winger, who last year had been told to find a new club in the January transfer window after being left out of matchday squads for consecutive games.
G⚽️AL OF THE DAY
🔙 Four years ago
🔥 @Dembouz's first Barça goal pic.twitter.com/t7hcvIA9eR— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) March 14, 2022
But that turnaround could be about to stop in its tracks, with the 25-year-old Frenchman dragging his feet over extending a contract which expires on 30 June.
"They have our proposal and a date to decide, because there's no more room," Laporta told Catalan sports paper L'Esportiu.
"We've been preparing for next season for a long time, and this is a problem we're stuck with, as the agent is not responding to the offer. It looks like they have a counter offer. There's a priority right now at Barcelona, which is to get the economic side back on track."
Dembele PSG-bound?
Is Laporta correct? One thing for sure is that Dembele's agent Moussa Sissoko took part in meetings with Barca brass two days ago having arrived directly from Paris where he had met with Nasser Al-Khelaifi, as reported by Foot Mercato.
PSG's interest is also understandable. They have a need for an assist-providing winger with Angel Di Maria having played his last game for the club, while Neymar is reportedly for sale as the club look to balance the books in light of Kylian Mbappe's bumper contract.
