Ousmane Dembele has been given by a contract renewal ultimatum by Barcelona amid anger from the club’s boss Xavi Hernandez.
The Barca supremo feels cheated by the Frenchman as contract renewal talks between the two parties have stalled with a player exit this year increasingly likely.
The club have already acted pre-emptively to Dembele’s likely exit with the signing of Ferran Torres from Manchester City this month for an initial fee of £46million, with potential add-ons meaning the deal could rise to £54million.
Recently, Xavi struck an optimistic tone when discussing Dembele’s future – claiming that he was confident the French forward would renew his contract on a reduced salary.
Yet there has been no progress between the club and the player’s agent Moussa Sissoko, with the situation now appearing to be at a standstill.
Have Your Say! Would Dembele be a good signing for a Premier League club? Tell us what you think here.
When discussing the situation, Sissoko appeared to take aim at Barca and Xavi when discussing why there had been no progress on discussions.
The agent said: "It is about the day-to-day management.
"That he played against Linares (in the Copa del Rey), without training and after coming out of Covid is difficult to understand."
The 24-year-old has spent five seasons at the Catalan giants but now looks set to leave the club – either as a free agent at the end of the current campaign or in a cut-price deal this month.
The lack of clarity on his future is something that Barca are adamant on sorting as a priority this week, which is why Mundo Deportivo highlight how he has been given a 48-hour deadline for a new deal.
If Dembele rejects the contract offer or does not respond at all, then the club will look to move him on this month if possible and will plan long-term without the former Rennes star.
The Blaugrana had been hopeful that the forward would take a pay cut to help their precarious financial situation but that is now unlikely to happen.
A host of clubs are likely to be monitoring Dembele’s situation due to his talent and skillset combined with the fact he would be available on a cut-price transfer.
Barca paid £105million – in a deal rising to a potential £135m – to sign Dembele from Borussia Dortmund in 2017 in a transfer that has become symbolic of the club’s reckless transfer policy.
With less than six months remaining on the player’s deal, he has been free to discuss pre-contract terms with clubs outside of Spain since the start of the year.
Dembele is able to utilise his technical ability, speed, and agility to beat opponents and open defences – with his tactical adaptability also likely to be highly valued by many clubs.
Manchester United, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain have been among the clubs linked with a possible move for the Frenchman.
