Ousmane Dembélé completes transfer to PSG: how much of a loss did Barcelona make?

Ousmane Demebélé is officially a Paris Saint-Germain player. The Frenchman, as looked likely from the moment he asked to leave the LaLiga champions during their pre-season tour of the United States, will link up with former Barça boss Luis Enrique in the French capital. The attacker’s move back to his homeland has proved more complicated than it first appeared and he even trained with the Catalans for a couple of days due to the delay.

Dembélé won’t play in the Parisians’ first Ligue 1 game of the season against Lorient on Saturday, a fixture which won’t feature his international teammate Kylian Mbappé, who is locked in dispute with the club.

How much have PSG paid for Dembélé?

Dembélé has agreed a six-year deal in Paris, although there has been no confirmation of how much of the transfer fee will end up in Barcelona’s pockets.

PSG’s offer of €50,4 million ($55.26 million) triggered the 26-year-old’s release clause and the player himself was due to keep 50% of that (just over €25 million), according to the terms of his contract. Barça had, however, been attempting to prove said terms hadn’t been met and that they were due the full fee.

The winger moved to Camp Nou in the summer of 2017 as a direct replacement for Neymar, who he also appears unlikely to play alongside in Paris with both the Brazilian and the Ligue 1 champions looking to part ways. There is even some suggestion that the former Santos star could be on his way back to Catalonia, effectively replacing the man who replaced him.

How much did Barcelona pay for Dembélé in 2017?

When Barça sold Neymar to PSG for €222 million ($243.41 million) six years ago, they spent around half of that figure (€105 million/$115,13 million, plus €40 million/$43.86 million in add-ons) on the then Borussia Dortmund forward, who was just 20 at the time.

That means the Catalans have made a minimum loss €55 million ($60.30 million), which could be as high as €95 million ($105.26 million).

Dembélé's Barcelona release clause

Dembélé's Barcelona contract was due to run until June 2024 but included a release clause which obliged La Blaugrana to accept any bids of just over €50 million, such as Paris Saint-Germain’s.

Barça’s argument that the player hadn’t fulfilled the terms of the deal centred around their belief that he had treated them “very unfairly”, especially as their offer of a contract extension until 2027, which Dembélé rejected, would have made him one of the club’s top three or four earners.

At one stage, it looked as if the two clubs would be prepared to negotiate “amicably” and treat the deal as a “normal” transfer rather than the triggering of a release clause, but changing demands from all parties threatened to put the move in danger.

Xavi unhappy at losing French international winger

Xavi Hernández has also voiced his displeasure with the Frenchman’s departure, with the Barcelona head coach having always given his backing to Dembélé, who he called “the best player in the world in his position” when he returned to the Camp Nou dugout.

The pair had spoken on a couple of occasions during the US tour as Xavi tried to change the winger’s mind, even using Neymar, whose move to Paris hasn’t been especially successful, as a reason as to why he should stay put. The former Spain international’s surprise at developments has been heightened by a recent conversation he had with Dembélé in which the Frenchman told him he wanted to win the Champions League with Barcelona this coming season.