BARCELONA
Barcelona putting Dembélé under pressure to renew terms
Sport report that the Catalan club is pushing the player to sign a contract extension now that he is fit to play. His current contract expires in June.
According to reports in today's edition of Sport, Barcelona are applying pressure on Ousmane Dembélé to agree new terms and sign a contract extension now that he has recovered from injury and is ready to return to the field of play. Dembélé suffered a dislocation of the biceps tendon in his right knee while on duty for France at last summer's Euro 2020. As president Joan Laporta recently disclosed, the French forward is in the final stage of his recovery and will soon be ready to return to first team duties, although there is one small snag with that plan.
Dembélé's contract runs out next year
The Catalan paper explain that Barcelona have made it clear to the player that if he wants to continue having regular playing time, he must agree to prolong his contract, which is due to expire on 30 June 2022. Both parties are believed to be committed to striking a new deal, although some Barça officials suspect that Dembélé could be bluffing and merely stringing the club along while his contract runs down, boosting his chances of leaving on a free transfer next summer.