Posted on October 21, 2021 at 2:30 p.m. by Amadou Diawara
At the end of the contract on June 30, Ousmane Dembélé would not have given FC Barcelona any news about his future for a month. Suspecting his number 7 to play the watch, Joan Laporta would have decided to give him a huge ultimatum. And in the event that Ousmane Dembélé did not respect the deadlines he imposed, the president of Barça would plan to prepare his departure, while leaving him in the closet for the rest of the season.
Arrived at FC Barcelona in the summer of 2017 to fill the void left by Neymar – transferred to PSG for the trifle of 222M € – Ousmane Dembélé has signed a five-season contract. While he has never extended with the Catalan club, the French world champion will be free from any contract on July 1 if he does not return to work by then. To avoid this catastrophic scenario for the Lionel Messi, party freely and for free at PSG this summer, Joan Laporta would have launched discussions with the clan < strong> Dembélé for an extension. Moreover, the president of Barça would have organized a meeting with Ousmane Dembélé and his entourage on September 21. An appointment on the subject during which the French would have given an initial positive response to the Blaugrana club. However, according to Mundo Deportivo, Joan Laporta has not heard from Ousmane Dembélé since this interview carried out just a month ago. And according to the Spanish media, this would greatly worry the president of FC Barcelona. While he made the extension of Ousmane Dembélé a priority, Joan Laporta would suspect his player of dragging his foot because he would have superior contract offers from other clubs, and in particular from Newcastle, who would be ready to pay € 15M annual salary and € 15M signing bonus.
Laporta wants an answer from Ousmane Dembélé before November
So as not to be fooled by the clan Ousmane Dembélé, Joan Laporta would have decided to react. Thus, according to Mundo Deportivo, the president of FC Barcelona would have issued an ultimatum to his number 7. Indeed, Joan Laporta would have informed the former of Borussia Dortmund that he wanted an answer by the end of October. And if Ousmane Dembélé did not respect this deadline, the boss of Barça will feel that he does not want to continue with the club blaugrana and will start looking for alternatives. Moreover, the successor of Ousmane Dembélé could already be found, since Joan Laporta has been working for several weeks on the Raheem Sterling file, also at the end of the contract on June 30, but with Manchester City.
Laporta ready to put Ousmane Dembélé in the closet?
Still according to Mundo Deportivo, Joan Laporta would be ready to make a shocking decision if Ousmane Dembélé does not answer him before November. While he will be condemned to let his French striker slip away freely and for free in the summer of 2022 – if he does not sell him in January – the president of FC Barcelona could consider the idea of putting Ousmane Dembélé in the closet until the end of his lease. A drastic measure used by PSG with Adrien Rabiot, before his departure to Juventus for 0 € in the summer of 2019.