Xavi defends under-fire Dembele

Carlo Garganese

23 Feb 2022 15:15 CST
3 min read

Barcelona manager Xavi has once again leapt to the defence of the under-fire Ousmane Dembele, insisting he will continue to play him between now and the end of the season.

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Dembele’s contract at Camp Nou expires at the end of June and he has rejected all offers of a renewal.

Barcelona had been very keen for the winger to renew, however negotiations collapsed at the turn of the year as Dembele became unhappy that the club were offering him a contract at much-reduced wages while at the same time signing

Ferran Torres from Man City for €55 million plus €10m in add-ons.

Barcelona, on the other hand, complained that Dembele was asking for too much money, with reports that he demanded €240m in order to sign a new contract at Barcelona.

The relationship between Dembele and the key figures at Barcelona deteriorated badly from then on, with Barcelona doing everything to pressure him into either signing a new contract or leaving in January.

© ProShots - Dembele has fallen out with the club after refusing to leave in January

There were even reports that Barcelona were prepared to freeze Dembele out of the squad for the rest of the season if he didn’t leave, or even take him to court.

In the end, Dembele stayed put and he has been reintegrated into the team in recent games.

The player has been fiercely booed by Barcelona fans but Xavi insists that he is acting professionally and will continue to play.

What did Xavi say about Dembele?

“I can see that he’s happy and acting like a professional,” Xavi told the press ahead of Barcelona’s Europa League second leg tie against Napoli.

“I’ve heard all sorts of things, but I can say that he\s trained hard even when he wasn’t called up.

“If he wasn’t a professional I wouldn’t play him, instead he gives something positive to the squad and will give a lot from now until the end of the season.”

Barcelona’s match against Napoli kicks off at 21:00 local time at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

The aggregate score is 1-1 after the first leg, with Piotr Zielinski’s first-half strike giving Napoli the lead before Ferran Torres equalised from the penalty spot after the break.