Catalan giants Barcelona are reportedly fed up with the long-dragging talks with Ousmane Dembele and will likely end talks with the 25-year-old attacker.
According to a report by Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo, Ousmane Dembele’s time at FC Barcelona is on the brink of ending in the summer transfer window. The Catalan giants are fed up with the long-drawn contract talks, and the 25-year-old attacker will likely depart from Camp Nou as a free agent.
Ousmane Dembele has been a divisive figure since joining Barcelona from Borussia Dortmund in August 2017. The French international was supposed to be the long-term replacement for Neymar, and he has eventually lived up to the billing after an excellent second half of the 2021/22 campaign.
While fitness issues plagued the 25-year-old again, he ended the season with more assists than anyone else in La Liga this term (13) despite playing only 21 games. But Dembele’s future has been the subject of grave concern for Barcelona, as he has entered the final month of his contract.
Back in January, it seemed as if Dembele’s spell with Barcelona was about to end before the winter transfer window shut down. The Catalan club’s director of football Mateu Alemany had announced that contract renewal talks between the two parties had reached a point of no return, and they were hoping to sell him then.
But a move never came close to materialising, and Dembele stayed put at FC Barcelona. Xavi Hernandez subsequently brought the best out of the 2018 FIFA World Cup winner, even as the Camp Nou faithful initially greeted him with jeers on his first appearance after the January transfer window shut down.
Barcelona then reopened talks to secure Dembele’s long-term future, but their hopes have been fading in recent weeks, with discussions going nowhere. And the Catalan giants are now fed up with the pointless meetings and might pull the plug on offering the 25-year-old a new contract.
Also Read: Three potential Ousmane Dembele replacements for Barcelona
Dembele does not have any shortage of suitors, and recent reports have claimed that he is closing in on joining Chelsea. And with Barcelona likely to end contract renewal talks with the Frenchman, a Bosman move to Stamford Bridge could soon see the light of day.
