Real Madrid have reportedly been offered the chance to sign Barcelona contract rebel Ousmane Dembele in a shock Bosman move.
According to a report by Catalan outlet El Nacional, Ousmane Dembele has offered his signing to Real Madrid through his representatives. However, it has also been added that Florentino Perez has no intention of signing the French attacker even if he runs down his contract with Barcelona.
Ousmane Dembele joined Barcelona in the summer of 2017 after making an acrimonious exit from Borussia Dortmund. Heralded as a potential long-term replacement for Neymar, who had joined Paris Saint-Germain in a shock world record transfer, there was a lot of excitement around the 24-year-old.
However, Dembele has done nothing to live up to his billing over the last four years, with a spate of injuries curtailing his progress significantly. To date, he has made 118 appearances for Barcelona while garnering a tally of 30 goals and 21 assists in the process. Barcelona, though, are in a precarious position over his future, with the Frenchman entering the final year of his deal at Camp Nou.
As a result, a number of clubs have been linked with Dembele in recent times, be it over a potential cut-price move in the January transfer window or a Bosman move next summer. Some of his prospective suitors include Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City. And now, Real Madrid have been linked with a shock move for the Barcelona contract rebel.
Real Madrid are indeed in the market for multiple attackers as per recent reports, with Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland being their priority. However, Marco Asensio is facing an uncertain future at the Santiago Bernabeu while Eden Hazard’s fitness struggles are compounding his misery.
In addition, Gareth Bale appears set to leave Real Madrid as a free agent next summer and is unlikely to be handed a renewal. All of this means that the Merengues could well bring in more than one forward next summer, and as a result, they have been linked with Ferran Torres, Charles de Ketelaere and Raheem Sterling, who is coincidentally a target for Barcelona, among others.
As for the links with Dembele, Real Madrid are unlikely to make their move for the Barcelona ace, even though he could be available for free. That is because Florentino Perez and Joan Laporta have a non-aggression pact owing to their relations in founding the European Super League.
So while Real Madrid are attracted by the idea of signing Dembele for free, they will not make their move, although that might be for the best, considering the French international’s fitness woes. For now, the 24-year-old continues to face an uncertain future at Barcelona and it remains to be seen if he ends up departing Camp Nou as a free agent next summer.
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