Barcelona President Joan Laporta believes Ousmane Dembele ‘already has a contract with another club,’ with Juventus and Manchester United the candidates under suspicion.
The striker was a record €140m signing from Borussia Dortmund in August 2017, but his deal is due to expire on June 30 and he has rejected all renewal offers, as well as chances to leave in January.
His refusal to walk away despite interest from Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain has raised suspicions within the Barcelona camp, ones that Laporta expressed out loud at a press conference.
“We made him a very good renewal offer,” said Laporta.
Joan Laporta hands Ousmane Dembélé decision to Xavi amid contract stand-off
“I am very surprised that he did not accept a proposal he had from an English club. He did not want to. It did not make sense, because it was not good for him or for the club.
“We think that Dembele already has a contract with another club; they have insinuated that to us.”
According to Catalan newspaper Sport, there are two clubs accused of potentially having a deal with Dembele behind Barcelona’s back, specifically Juventus and Manchester United.
This is because Juve have been in contact with Dembele’s agent, but did not make an offer in the January transfer window.
The same is true of Manchester United, although the Old Trafford side had been very interested in previous transfer windows, yet suspiciously quiet this time around.
“#Dembelè, dietro tutti i no ci sono Juve o United” ⬇️ https://t.co/NGVeMwgjV5
— Corriere dello Sport (@CorSport) February 2, 2022
He’s just as injury prone as Dybala, but younger and fits the team better. Chiesa Vlahovic Dembele would be a nice front three. Add Gravenberch to that and other teams will be vying for second place again.
I doubt Juve can afford his wages
I hope this is not true. His injury record is TERRIBLE. Poor guy, but judging by the past 3 years he will likely never play at a high level again, and certainly not for months in a row. Combine that with his very high salary and there is a player far worse value than Dybala, and maybe even as bad as Ramsinjury!
Love this guy as a baller but his decision making with other clubs and his nack for injuries is almost turning him into a pariah. We already have one expensive injury prone superstar, doubt Juve dumps more money into another one. Go to manure 👋🏻👋🏻👋🏻
Join the other pariah we sent there this summer 😂😂😂