French forward Ousmane Dembele has entered the last six months of his contract with Barcelona,as he is tied to the La Liga sideuntil June 2022. The situationhas onlyincreased the tension between the club and the player’s representatives because Barca’smanagement have given up on receivingadefinite answer to theirfinal contract renewal offer.
The Spanish giant had wantedto keep the Frenchman andoffered him a new contract. In addition, it wassuggested thatthe 24-year-oldwould also opt to stay, but the main issue was his agent, Moussa Sissoko,who wasreportedlynot happy with the proposal, as he believes that his client deserves a better deal.
Meanwhile, the Barcelona hierarchy’s patience has officially runout, and they do not want to wait any longer. As a result, coach Xavi Hernandez, who hasconstantly backed the player to succeed, and had earlier publicly stated that the right-winger plays an important part in the new project, gaveDembele an ultimatum in case he doesn’t sign a new contract until the end of January.
Imminenttransfer to the Premier League
“It’s clear that Dembele does not want to continue with Barcelona. He doesn’t want to be part of our project. We told Dembele he has to leave immediately. We expect Ousmane to be sold before January 31,” said Barca’sdirector of footballMateu Alemany on Thursday. Chelsea seem to be in pole position tobring Dembele on loan until the end of the season, and sign him as a free agent in the summer so as tomeet his financial requirements. The Spanish sideareeven prepared to ship him off for a loan worth€5 million, as per The Sun.
In addition, the Blues boss Thomas Tuchel, who worked with Dembele at Borussia Dortmund, has welcomed a possible move: “I haveno idea about his situation, but he isa very good player when he is in his top-level. I was very lucky to train him in Dortmund. It was only for one year and it should have been longer. I left and he decided to leave”.The report adds that the 24-year-old has also appearedon the radar of the wealthiest club in the world at the moment, Newcastle. Meanwhile, Mirror has linked the player withanother two Premier League sides, Arsenal, and Manchester United.
Mutualterminationofcontract
“The message is clear. Ousmane Dembele has to sign a new contract or we find a way to sell him in January. No other way. What I can say is that we are making a difficult decision. If he does not renew, the club has decided that they will make a decision. We have waited a long time, we have been in talks with him for five months,” said Xavi earlier on Wednesday.
It wasDiario ASwho had claimedthat the Spanish manager had beenoptimistic that the player would take the initiative and accept Barcelona’s offer.However, the situation was notallowed to continue indefinitely. As a result, the problematicforward was ruled out of the Copa del Rey clash, in which the club lost 3-2toAthletic Club.
The winter transfer window is set to close onJanuary 31. In casethe Catalans fail to sell or loan out the winger, they could meet again with his entourage to discuss amutualterminationof the contract. That way, Dembele would leave Barcelona on a free transfer this month, but they would save on his highsalary starting from February 1.
Forced termination of contract andlawsuit
After being cut out of the team and urged to leave with immediate effect, Ousmane Dembelehas insisted on continuing contract talks with Barcelona and has demanded that he will not be intimidated: “I’m still under contract, I am fully involved and at the disposal of my club, my coach. I have always given everything formy colleagues and also for all the club members. I am not going to change that now. I am not a man who cheats and still less a man who has the habit of giving in to blackmail.”
However, Catalan publication Sport suggests that the player refusesto budge on his demands, which include a salary of €20 milliongross per season, which is €4 million more than his current earnings. In addition, he is asking for an on-signing bonus and a commissionfee for his agent, Moussa Sissoko.
If the former Borussia Dortmund talent, who has been capped 27 times so far by the France national team, doesn’t want the easy way out, he could be forced to leave through the back door. Ifhe rejects the latestcontract offer over the next several hours, Barca could also decide to rescind his current contract.However, unilateral revocation would very certainly result in a legal battle.
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