"Shame on you" - Fans accuse Barcelona of 'ruining' 24-year-old's career amid contract stand-off
Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele ended up remaining at the club at the end of the January transfer window despite strong exit links.
The Frenchman was asked to leave by the club board in January following an impasse in contract negotiations.
However, none of the interested parties struck a deal before the winter transfer window closed on 31 January.
It left the 24-year-old's future up in the air with head coach Xavi, who initially wanted him to remain, also issuing him an ultimatum.
But the Spaniard has now called up Dembele for the squad to face Atletico Madrid on Sunday and dropped a hint that he might as well play in the fixture.
Ousmane Dembele is in Barcelona's squad to face Atletico Madrid and Xavi is ready to use him 🔵🔴 https://t.co/V9iJkuJwTt
This has divided the Blaugrana fanbase. While some feel this is a logical thing to do, the Catalan side have also been called out for changing their stance.
Here are some of the reactions from the fans:
@GoalNews Shame on you Barcelona, you beat the drums and you dance to the music. You said the last time that Dembalay would never play for Barcelona
@BarcaUniversal @gerardromero The only fault is from Barcelona...dembele never respected a club or anything else..he only plays for money ONLY! He left his first club and second club on a bad way..go ask stade rennes and Dortmund..he is a snake and his agent
@danielbello650 @BonganiFCB_ @barcacentre I think Barcelona destroyed dembele career, the same way they doing to Ansu fati now.
@GoalNews Intelligent decision from xavi.
@GoalNews imo Good decision cause at least 10 mil will be used instead of throwing it away
@GoalNews 🤧🙄🤏! I love Dembele & Xavi so much,Too Profesional, Xavi isn't Arteta who mess up like He had never been a player to know players x-cter 🤭 Barca walitishia kujamba kumbe wanaumwa tumbo la kuharisha 😂
@GoalNews @goal Yup. Would be dumb for barca to pay him & not using him.
@GoalNews @goal We can’t shoot ourselves in the foot?!?! If Dembele has any self respect he’ll walk away.
So let’s hate on Dembele who is *our* player but respect a rival. FC Barcelona‘s fanbase is just weird twitter.com/totalbarca/sta…
Barcelona must play him or face more financial trouble
With Barcelona currently beset with injuries, the Frenchman will hope to get a few minutes under his belt between now and the end of the season.
His contract expires in June, after which he's likely to leave as a free agent. Dembele currently earns €384,615-a-week in wages, the highest in the squad after Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.
Barcelona tried to offload Dembele from their books in the January transfer window, but the French winger reiterated his desire to stay, despite interest from clubs elsewhere, including the Premier League. It will be interesting to see what transpires ahead as the long-winded saga enters the last few months.
Barcelona signed Dembele for €105 million from Borussia Dortmund in 2017, which remains one of the 10 most expensive transfers in history.
The Frenchman, only 20 at the time, came with a lot of promise but could never live up to his staggering price tag as recurring injuries curtailed his time on the pitch.
He has made 129 appearances for the club in all competitions so far, scoring 31 goals and winning five titles along the way.