FC Barcelona feel Ousmane Dembele will leave the club for Paris Saint-Germain.
FC Barcelona have grown “very pessimistic” about Ousmane Dembele’s future at the club and feel the Frenchman will join Paris Saint-Germain in the current transfer window according to The Athletic and COPE.
Madrid-based daily newspaper AS reported on Friday that PSG would go for broke in trying to sign the 26-year-old if his close France teammate Kylian Mbappe leaves them.
Mbappe has been put up for sale for not renewing his contract at the Parc des Princes, which expires on June 30 next year, until mid-2024.
Futher north in France, however, RMC Sport reported that the approach from the Qatari-owned Ligue 1 giants wasn’t dependent on whether Mbappe stays or not.
PSG reportedly want Dembele if Mbappe is in Luis Enrique’s squad next season or not, and are prepared to pay his €50 million release clause which expires on Monday and doubles as of August 1.
Such talk fell by the wayside for at least 24 hours as Barca focused on a Dallas installment of El Clasico.
Dembele was key in the 3-0 win by scoring the opener on 15 minutes, before substitute Fermin Lopez doubled the lead and provided an assist for Ferran Torres in an impressive 24-minute cameo.
On Sunday evening, however, Dembele’s fate has again taken the headlines in Can Barca.
SPORT reports that Dembele’s future is in the hands of his manager Xavi Hernandez who will try and convince his winger to stay by holding meeting on the ongoing preseason tour of the United States.
Over at The Athletic, though, they explain how an anonymous senior Barca source has told them that PSG asked for permission to speak to Dembele in a formal letter and indicated they are willing to pay the release clause.
The same source also claimed that, unsurprisingly, moneyed PSG are offering Dembele more money to join them than cash-strapped Barca can. Furthermore, they have also made an improved offer in the last few hours on Sunday.
As The Athletic point out, PSG paying just €50 million for Dembele looks difficult to pull off given that players must deliver the cash of their release clause personally to La Liga headquarters.
Dembele would have to fly across the Atlantic back to Europe post-haste, and complete the operation before midnight on Monday evening.
Receiving this amount of money is also potentially damaging for Barca because Dembele and his agent Moussa Sissoko can pocket half of the sum thanks to head-scratching terms that were agreed when he extended until June 30, 2024 last year.
Receiving €100 million would be more to Barca’s taste and better for their financial health, and they intend to push PSG to pay the full amount.
Such money might allow Barca to make a push for Bernardo Silva at Manchester City, but Xavi would clearly like ‘The Mosquito’ to stay.
“I think he’s a difference-maker,” Xavi remarked after El Clasico. “I said this when I arrived at the club and I can say it now again.
“Dembele has the potential to be the best player in the world at his position. I believe that. He’s fundamental for us,” the manager added.