Barcelona considering termination of Ousmane Dembele's contract - Reports
The relationship between Barcelona and Ousmane Dembele appears to be deteriorating with each passing day. Fans and experts believed Blaugrana would be able to offload Dembele before the end of the January transfer window.
However, the French winger chose not to leave the club even if it meant he would not play for the club for the rest of the season. Now, based on a recent update from Xavi Torres, Barcelona are considering terminating Dembele's contract after the club failed to offload the player before the end of the transfer window.
Ousmane Dembele's stint with Barcelona has been a complete debacle. The French international joined the Catalan club back in 2017 from Borussia Dortmund. Blaugrana paid a whopping €140million as a transfer fee to complete the transfer. Back then, the 24-year-old was highly rated, with many clubs declaring interest in signing him after being impressed by his potential.
It has been five years since Ousmane Dembele joined Barcelona and the journey so far has been a failure. The French winger has spent most of his time in Spain recovering from a series of injuries. Dembele has made 129 overall appearances for Blaugrana so far and has scored only 31 goals and 23 assists for the team. The stats are subpar for a player who plays a pivotal role in an attacking position.
Despite his lackluster performances, the Catalans were still willing to extend the 26-year-old's contract and tried to convince him to sign a new deal earlier last month.
🎙@xavitorresll: "El club és planteja donar-li la carta de llibertat a DEMBÉLÉ"👋
#OnzeE3 https://t.co/0I7qm1ox9G
However, Dembele and his entourage weren't impressed with the financial terms offered to him. The relationship between the player and the club worsened when Blaugrana director Alemany declared they were trying to offload Dembele before January 31 after his decision not to extend his contract.
Many expected Ousmane Dembele to leave the club on deadline day but a deal did not materialize and the player is still under contract. According to a recent update from Xavi Torres, Barcelona have finally decided to end this saga by deciding to terminate Dembele's contract in the coming hours. This could prove to be a huge blow for the player as the transfer window was shut down just hours ago.
Barcelona sign Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on a free transfer
The deadline day of the winter transfer window was full of drama as many clubs made some last-minute deals. One such deal was the free transfer of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Arsenal to Barcelona. At one point, it seemed that talks between the two clubs had broken down. However, the deal took a big turn when the former Arsenal star finally accepted a huge pay cut to join the Catalans at the last hour.
🤙🏻 #FCB
…and here’s Aubameyang celebrating his move to Barcelona. Here we go! 😉🔵🔴🤙🏻 #FCB https://t.co/lZ6t9ay33O
Arsenal were happy to let the 32-year-old leave the club for free as his relationship with Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was beyond repair. As a result, Blaugrana were able to land another star on a free transfer this season. The club have certainly bolstered their attacking options by signing the likes of Ferran Torres and Aubameyang in the winter transfer window.