Chelsea transfer close? Barcelona give up on Ousmane Dembele
FT Desk
- 7 Jun 2022 12:30 BST
- 3 min read
Dembele’s contract at Camp Nou expires at the end of the month and it is now certain he will leave on a free transfer.
Diario Sport reports that Barca transfer chief Mateu Alemany has had enough of waiting for a positive response from Dembele over a contract renewal, and has thrown in the towel.
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Mundo Deportivo adds that Barcelona and Alemany are “fed up” with the situation and will not attempt to set up any more meetings with Dembele.
It is claimed that Alemany and Barcelona directors already believed that Dembele was a lost cause months ago, but were forced to try and convince the winger to change his mind by manager Xavi.
Alemany is reported to have heard nothing from Dembele’s camp for two months, despite numerous attempts at mediation.
This is all good news for Chelsea, who are the favourites to sign Dembele on a Bosman Transfer this summer.
Indeed, some reports in Spain in recent days have claimed that a transfer is imminent after PSG’s interest in the player cooled.
Barcelona wanted to keep Dembele
Barcelona – and particularly president Joan Laporta - had been very keen for Dembele to pen a new deal.
However, negotiations collapsed at the start of 2022 as Dembele was unhappy about the club offering him a paycut while spending €55 million plus €10m in add-ons for new buy Ferran Torres.
Barcelona, meanwhile, complained that Dembele was asking for too much money, with reports that he demanded €240m in order to sign a new contract at Barcelona.
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The relationship between Dembele and Barcelona then deteriorated, with the club trying to push him into either signing a new contract or leaving in January.
In the end, Dembele stayed put and he reintegrated into the team brilliantly over the last few months of the season, linking up superbly with January signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Dembele’s entourage reopened contract talks with Barcelona at the start of April in Morocco, with the club hoping he would stay at the club.
However, Barca also refused to raise their offer and meet Dembele’s salary demands.
This refusal to increase the money on offer has proved fatal with Dembele now set to leave on a Bosman.
Dembele joined Barcelona in 2017 from Borussia Dortmund in a €105 million deal but has struggled for fitness during much of his time at Camp Nou.
