Barcelona post tweet about ‘no-show’ Dembele

There has been another twist and turn in the Ousmane Dembele saga. After the French winger wasn’t included in Barcelona’s squad list for their Sunday game against Alavés, the Catalan club shared a medical update to reveal that the player has an upset stomach.

While this is nothing out of the ordinary, the club’s tweet about Dembele has caught the attention for the way it described him as “a no-show”.

“Expected at Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper this morning, first-team player, Ousmane Dembele, was a no-show due to a stomach upset,” was the full post from the Blaugrana.

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Barcelona and Dembele's standoff

This episode follows the developments this week where Barcelona decided that they would freeze Dembele out if he refuses to sign a contract extension, with his current deal expiring in the summer and with no agreement on a renewal.

As director of football Mateu Alemany explained in midweek: “Barcelona have made different offers to Dembele and we have tried to find a way for the player to continue with us, but those offers have been systematically rejected by his agents. We want players committed to this project, so we hope that a transfer will take place as soon as possible.”

This approach was met by an angry response from the players’ association and from the player himself, with Dembele promising “not to give in to any blackmail”. He added: “I won’t allow anyone to make it look like I’m not committed to the sporting project, nor attribute to me intentions I never had. I’ve always given everything and that will not change. For four years, I’ve read things about me without stepping up to justify myself. But from now, that’s over.”

Now, he has stayed home on Sunday morning. While the official line is that the player has “an upset stomach”, there has been speculation that this is simply a cover story. Whether that’s true or not, the wording of Barcelona’s tweet has created a new controversy. This saga certainly isn’t over yet.