Dembele Receives Offer from Paris Saint-Germain, Says Xavi Hernandez
Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernandez has admitted that his French player Ousmane Dembele has received an offer from Paris Saint-Germain in the current transfer market: “he cannot be approached”.
“Dembele asked us to leave and I am disappointed. We took care of him, but that’s the law of the transfer market,” Xavi said after Barcelona’s friendly victory over Milan with a single goal today, Wednesday, in America Deportivo, Spain.
He added: “I’ll be clear, Dembele asked us to leave because there was an offer from Paris Saint-Germain. They asked him and he was frank with us. It’s the player’s personal decision and there’s nothing we can do.”
And he continued: “He was happy with us and he was able to make a difference, but an offer came and he asked to leave, and then he couldn’t play against Milan.
Xavi explained that Barcelona could not compete with an offer like the one he received from Paris, saying: “It’s hard for us to contact him. I wish him every success because he has given us so much, at least since I took over team management.”
Since his arrival at Barcelona at the end of 2021, Xavi Hernandez has managed to turn Dembele from a multi-injury player into a key element of his team and return to him the periods of his radiance that previously appeared at Borussia Dortmund.
And about the reason for Dembele’s departure, Xavi replied: “The players who do not want to continue playing at Barcelona should leave. He didn’t tell me the reason for his departure, but I’m sure it’s a personal reason.”
Regarding Barcelona’s plans to replace the Frenchman, the Spanish coach said: “I’m in touch with Matteo Alemani and we’ll see how Mercato behaves. With him gone, we have to strengthen the team because his departure will weaken us, but the most important thing now is to get a right-back.”
According to press reports, Ousmane Dembele will move to the Parisian club for €50m, which is the same as the value of the penalty clause in his Barcelona contract, despite the clause’s value having shifted by €100m. million euros, as of August 1 this year, he remains ahead of the French team.5 days after the end of July to pay the cost of the previous condition.
And the French newspaper Equipe claimed that Paris Saint-Germain relied on an unknown clause in Dembele’s contract, giving him 5 days to pay the old forfeit clause.
It is noteworthy that Ousmane Dembele and his agent Moussa Sissoko will receive half the value of the penalty clause, i.e. 25 million euros, if the transfer takes place before August 5, according to the contract concluded between the Catalan club and the French player.
Osman Dembele joined Barcelona in the summer of 2017 from Borussia Dortmund in a deal that cost the club treasury 145 million euros to compensate for the departure of the Brazilian Neymar da Silva to Paris Saint-Germain in exchange for paying a penalty clause in his contract with the Catalan team in the amount of 222 million euros.
Osman Dembele, 26, has made 185 appearances for Barcelona, scoring 40 goals and providing 43 assists.
Source: media