Barcelona have confirmed that Ousmane Dembele is set to leave this month after failing to agree a new contract with the club.
Dembele is out of contract at the end of the season and has turned down the Spanish side’s offer of a renewal, with the Catalans having been keen to reduce the wages of the winger who has been plagued with injury problems in recent seasons.
The 24-year-old signed for Barcelona from Borussia Dortmund in a deal worth an initial €105m, but has started just 54 league games across his four-and-a-half seasons with the club after struggling with fitness issues.
Barcelona director Alemany has announced that he expects Dembele to be sold before the closure of the January transfer window, as the Spaniards look to recoup a fee for the France international before his contract expires this summer.
Xavi had this week warned that the club would look to cash in on the winger should he not sign a new deal and the Barcelona boss refuted suggestions Dembele could be left on the sidelines for the remainder of the campaign.
Barça-Dembélé, it’s over 🚨
Barcelona director Alemany announces: “It’s clear that Dembélé does NOT want to continue with Barcelona. He doesn’t want to be part of our project”.
“We told Dembélé he has to leave immediately. We expect Ousmane to be sold before Jan 31”. #Dembele pic.twitter.com/0eC61mozCs
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 20, 2022
Dembele – who has been left out of the squad for Barcelona’s clash with Athletic Bilbao this evening – has previously been linked with a whole host of Premier League clubs, with the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham all credited with an interest in recent months.
Newcastle have also been mentioned as a potential destination as the Magpies look to invest following their billionaire-backed takeover earlier this season.
Dembele has made 129 appearances in all competitions for Barcelona, scoring 31 goals and providing 23 assists.
He was named as the Bundesliga Rookie of the Season during a brilliant single season with Dortmund in 2016/17 and formed part of the France squad that won the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
