TRANSFER MARKET
Ousmane Dembélé left out of Barcelona’s win over Milan as Xavi confirms winger wants PSG move
Ansu Fati celebrated the only goal of the friendly with the France international, who could replace Kylian Mbappé in Paris.
It didn’t come as a huge surprise, but French winger Ousmane Dembélé was left out of Barcelona’s matchday squad for their final pre-season friendly in the United States against AC Milan. Although his rumoured move to Paris Saint-Germain remains exactly that, the player has been given until Friday to make a decision and head coach Xavi Hernández expects him to leave the club.
Dembélé in good spirits ahead of PSG move
Despite not being involved in the match against the Italians, Dembélé was spotted at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas and appeared relaxed as he chatted with teammates, most notably Ansu Fati, before kick-off. In the morning of the game, he had trained as normal with the rest of the roster and had been seen laughing and joking with Robert Lewandowski among others. However, Xavi opted not to use him in the pre-season friendly and it looks as if we have seen the last of the attacker in a Barça shirt.
Barcelona to fight against Dembélé payment
Dembélé hasn’t yet informed the club of his decision to leave, but has until Friday to activate the “obligatory transfer clause” in his contract, which has been triggered by an offer of €50 million from PSG, who see the former Borussia Dortmund star as a long-term replacement for Real Madrid target Kylian Mbappé.
Of the €50 million, half would be due to the player. However, the Catalans will fight against paying Dembélé those €25 million as they claim that certain unspecified terms of the contract have not been met. In any case, PSG expect to confirm the signing of the France international in the coming days.
Xavi: “Dembélé told me he wanted to leave”
Fati scored the only goal of the pre-season victory against Milan and celebrated his goal with a smiling Dembélé on the touchline. After the game, Xavi confirmed that the France international would almost certainly be moving on to pastures new:
“Dembélé came and told me he wanted to leave. He has an offer from PSG that we cannot match. I am a little disappointed but I wish Dembélé all the best at PSG. He gave us so much. I tried to persuade him to stay, but he told me that he spoke to Luis Enrique and (PSG president Nasser) Al-Khelaifi and there was no way to convince him. It’s final and it’s his personal decision. Players who don’t want to be at Barça, they have to be let go.