EXCLUSIVE: Dembele in talks with Barcelona over fresh deal

Jacque Talbot

• Updated: 3 Mar 2023 18:31 GMT
• 4 min read

Confirmed

Ousmane Dembele’s contract talks with Barcelona have begun and are on course for a positive outcome, FootballTransfers has learned.

Amid the background noise of financial chaos, the French winger is in discussion with the side over fresh terms, with Xavi a huge fan of the former Borussia Dortmund attacker.

His current deal is up in June 2024 and not only do Barca not want to see him leave on a free next year, but he is also very much admired by the coaching staff and Barca see him as a key player for the future.

Dembele signed a two-year deal last summer, meaning that his current one expires at the end of next season.

Jordi Alba’s contract is also set to expire in 2024, but unlike Demebele, we hear that Barcelona have not yet begun talks with the defender over fresh terms. It comes after the defender publicly declared that he would take a huge salary cut if it means remaining with the Catalan giants.

"Yes [willing to take cut in salary]. It's a club decision and I've always helped when asked. Many lies have been told in the press, but in the end, I have always been there, no one can say otherwise."

Barcelona and Messi

Of course, there have been noises about Lionel Messi and a possible Barcelona return. Still, we have been informed that no contact has been made between Messi and any other potential club and he is still very much focused on his discussions with Paris Saint-Germain.

Those close to the player have been quick to shut down rumours over him speaking to rivals clubs and say that they want to do things properly, not adding to the speculation. We hear that a deal - if or when it is sealed - is likely to be announced via the proper channels and not leaked to the press. Things are going well but sources essentially wish to keep a lid on things for the time-being.

Barcelona made themselves into pantomime villains following last summer. Lever after lever was activated, and yet there were able to spend a net sum of £105 million and even keep hold of Frenkie de Jong, much to the dismay of Eric ten Hag, who had made him Manchester United’s number one target.

FootballTransfers reached out to Barcelona for comment after La Liga chief Javier Tebas spoke about them at the Financial Times’ Business of Football summit in London on Thursday.

“As of today, Barcelona doesn’t have any room in its budget to spend in the upcoming transfer window,” he said. “Barcelona has been involved in questionable behaviour which has had an impact on La Liga and we are acting accordingly. We have ruled that they can no longer sign more players.

“They sold off €700m in TV rights and tried to find different ways to solve the situation but they won’t be able to do that next season. We have strict economic controls. At the end of each window, we tell all the clubs in La Liga what they can spend.

The claim is that Barcelona need to see off around £178m in expenditure to comply with La Liga riles, at which point they would be able to spend just £71.2m.