Ousmane Dembele will be staying at Barcelona for the next six months and will be seeing out his contract with the club. He will be leaving as a free agent in the summer.
According to the authorities at Barcelona, Xavi might not use Dembele as part of the first team in the latter half of the season either. He refused a contract proposal from Barcelona several times, and although he had an offer from a Premier League club, he did not accept and chose to stay in Spain for the next six months.
Ousmane Dembele situation explained by Joan Laporta
“We made him a very good renewal offer,” said Laporta during a press conference on Tuesday.
“The player said no, first alleging that it was not a money issue, but then he focused on the economic aspect. The agent did not tell us anything and that has consequences for the club.
“I am very surprised that he did not accept a proposal he had from an English club. He did not want to. It did not make sense, because it was not good for him or for the club. He would have allowed us to work with more tranquillity in the market.
“We think that Dembele already has a contract with another club; they have insinuated that to us. What we will do is defend the interests of the club.”
Right from the day he was appointed, Xavi has been very vocal about his high opinions about Ousmane Dembele. The manager tried to convince the winger to renew his contract and stay. However, the club could not match his financial demands, or his expectations. And now, things are a mess for the player with no game time or escape in sight.
