February 01, (THEWILL) – Barcelona is reportedly considering terminating Ousmane Dembele’s contract five months early after failing to reach an agreement to sell the winger before the transfer deadline.
When the January transfer window ended, the Catalans squandered their final chance to reclaim even a little of the transfer price for the player in whom they had invested up to €145 million in 2017. He will be out of contract in the summer and is poised to leave as a free agent after talks to extend his deal fell down.
Barcelona would save money by terminating his contract now, rather than paying salary to a player who had previously been threatened with being relegated to the stands for the rest of the season, if he did not depart during the transfer window.
Attempts to ship him off were not devoid of options but Paris Saint-Germain’s negotiations did not go anywhere, while Tottenham’s late interest resulted in no agreement. Chelsea were also connected and while conversations did begin, it was with the intention of Dembele joining Stamford Bridge on a free transfer in the summer rather than mid-season.
With the window now closed, Barça officials addressed the idea of taking “drastic measures”, if the matter remained unresolved in a recent meeting held ahead of the deadline. This included the possibility of Dembele’s contract being terminated.
On Tuesday, club executives will gather, and ‘voices’ are expected to argue for the termination of the Frenchman’s contract. Xavi might argue that the player could still be useful to the squad and that there is no point in expelling him, if he stays at Camp Nou until the conclusion of his contract.
Cancelling Dembele’s contract is depicted as the extreme third option, with the primary possibility being that he stays until the summer, whether as a squad member or frozen out.
When it comes to locking people out, the Barça board has precedent. Ilaix Moriba, a promising prospect, was left out after declining a contract renewal last season, opening the path for his departure to RB Leipzig. Dembele, on the other hand, is on a completely different level, given his pay.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
