Barça management are "losing Dembélé by themselves" - agent
Dembélé's agent discussed the player's contract situation amid reports that Barcelona have threatened to leave him out of the team for the rest of the season.
Talks over a new Ousmane Dembélé deal at Barcelona are still ongoing and it remains to be sign if the winger will leave Camp Nou this month.
Catalan daily Sport have reported that Dembélé met with Barcelona manager Xavi earlier on Tuesday to tell him that he wants to stay at the club and sign a new deal beyond his current one, which expires on 30 June 2022. Just hours later, his agent, Moussa Sissoko, spoke to French outlet RMC Sport, and explained his feelings towards the lengthy contract talks.
Barça putting the pressure on
"They’re putting the pressure on, but it doesn’t work with people like us. Maybe it works with agents who are close to Barcelona. That’s not the case with me, I’m here to defend my player’s interests," Sissoko said.
"We are not here to fuel debates on social media. We have tough demands, but we have already shown that Ousmane's career was not dictated by money, otherwise, he wouldn't be here. If Barcelona wanted to negotiate, they could have come to the table with us to talk. Except there are no discussions and there are threats coming from them that he won’t play. That’s not allowed. We will exercise Ousmane Dembélé’s rights if necessary."
"We don’t know what we’re going to do, nothing has been agreed or signed but the management are losing Ousmane by themselves. From the start, we’ve shown that we wanted to negotiate, with terms, but without closing the door," he added.
European clubs linked with winger
Barça have also reportedly been open to listening to offers for the France international as they fear losing him for free this summer. Newcastle United, Manchester United and Bayern Munich have all been linked with Dembélé.