Ousmane Dembele is reportedly on the verge of ending speculation surrounding his future by signing a two-year contract with Barcelona.
According to a report by Spanish publication SPORT, Barcelona and Ousmane Dembele have finally reached an agreement over a new contract. The 25-year-old will commit the next two years of his career to the Blaugrana, who will soon officiate the renewal.
Ousmane Dembele has been involved in one of the most captivating contract renewal sagas in recent memory, one that has lasted the entire year thus far. The soap opera began when Mateu Alemany announced in January that the negotiations between Barcelona and Dembele had stalled after talks stretched for months.
But after Barcelona failed to offload the 25-year-old in the January transfer window, he took no time to establish himself as a pivotal figure for the Blaugrana in the second half of the 2021/22 season. Dembele was so influential that he helped Barcelona finish second in La Liga while ending the campaign with more assists than any other player in the Spanish top-flight (13), despite playing only 21 games.
But despite his heroics, the speculation surrounding his long-term future has continued to grow like wildfire. That gave some of the most high-profile clubs across Europe, including Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and others, hope that they could secure the services of the French international in a Bosman move.
All his suitors were ready to offer him lucrative terms to prise him away from Barcelona as a free agent in the summer transfer window. But at the same time, Dembele has been steadfast in his stance, asserting his primary focus was on remaining at Camp Nou, even for lower wages than those proposed by the interested parties.
That gave Barcelona hope that they could keep hold of Dembele beyond the summer transfer window. And even though the 2018 FIFA World Cup winner officially became a free agent last week, he has continued his discussions with Barcelona over a new two-year contract.
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News has continued to filter this week, and Dembele has now committed his future to Barcelona. The 25-year-old will pen a new two-year deal, with Barcelona likely to officiate the renewal soon. Widespread reports have also suggested that Dembele could take a 40 per cent pay cut on his previous wages, which is why a short contract makes sense for him. Thus, a long-winding saga will soon end with the official announcement.
