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FootballOfficial: Ousmane Dembele to Leave Barcelona This Month After Rejecting New Deal
- Dembele will leave Barcelona in January, the club has announced
- The Frenchman was in line for a new deal, but the club told him he would be sold if he refused to sign
- His current deal runs until the end of the season and Barcelona are unwilling to lose him for free
Frenchman Ousmane Dembele’s spell at Barcelona is set to come to an abrupt end as the club confirmed he would be sold in January.
Sportsbrief had earlier reported about the ultimatum Barca coach Xavi had given the winger – to either sign a new deal or exit the club in the current transfer window.
Fresh reports now indicate that Dembele is unwilling to sign a new deal, and the club are now determined to cash in on him.
With his current deal expiring at the end of the season, there have been talks about the magnitude of wages he has been demanding to sign a new deal.
On Thursday, January 20, the club confirmed that he would not be signing a new deal and would be sold.
"It’s clear that Dembele does not want to continue with Barcelona. He doesn’t want to be part of our project," the club's chief executive officer Mateu Alemany said on Thursday.
“We told Dembélé he has to leave immediately. We expect Ousmane to be sold before Jan 31."
Prior to the developments, a number of clubs, including Premier League giants, were already linked with the 24-year old.
There are only 11 days remaining in the current transfer window, meaning Barcelona don’t have a lot of time to find a buyer for Dembele and reduce their struggling wage bill.
Dembele moved to Barca in 2017 for a deal that reportedly rose to €140 million after spending just one season in the Bundesliga.
In his four years as a Catalan, he has played just 129 times, with injuries being his biggest setback.