Reports: €80 million winger to reject Real Madrid and sign for Barcelona
What’s the story?
Borussia Dortmund winger Ousmane Dembele is set to reject a move to Real Madrid to move to Catalan giants Barcelona according to reports in Spain. The winger is reportedly a big fan of Lionel Messi and would jump at the chance of playing with his idol in the famous colours of the Blaugrana.
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In case you didn’t know..
Dembele signed for Dortmund this season from French side Rennes. Contrary to expectations the wide-man hardly took any time to settle in Germany and has gone on to score 9 goals and assist a further 17 for his club.
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Ambidextrous, with brilliant dribbling skills and a great final ball he has definitely been one of the best wingers in Europe this term (if not the best). Given he is just 19-years-old, and one of the most valuable players of a club like Borussia Dortmund, that in itself tells its own story.
The heart of the matter
Borussia Dortmund had to ward off the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool and Barcelona themselves in the signing of the French international so one thing is for sure, they won’t let him off for cheap.
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The fact that he signed a 5-year-contact when he arrived at the club also helps. Barcelona obviously have the famous trio of ‘MSN’ who are their first choice forwards, but with the 19-year-old in the team, Lionel Messi can perhaps drop into midfield.
What’s Next?
Among all the best dribblers in world football at the moment, Dembele is perhaps the only one who comes close to Lionel Messi in terms of close control. If Barcelona do decide to spend €80 million on the man, it is safe to say that it won’t be a total waste.
Bayern are also rumoured to be sniffing around, but Dortmund would surely prefer to sell their best asset to Barcelona than a direct rival.
Author’s Take
It will take a lot of money to wrestle away Dembele from Dortmund. He has been nothing short of brilliant for Borussia Dortmund this season and has been probably their best player bar top scorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
But, it is a transfer which would strengthen Barcelona considerably and send out a message to the rest of the world.