Barcelona president Joan Laporta has confirmed that star winger Ousmane Dembele will be leaving the club as a free agent following the expiry of his contract with the club.
The France international joined Barca as a £120m signing in 2017, but he failed to live up to expectations in his initial stay at the club.
The club had hoped to tie down Dembele with a new contract, but the 25-year-old opted against signing a new deal with the club.
Barca president Joan Laporta confirmed Dembele’s future as he said (via The Sun): ‘Dembele? We made our bid – he has a proposal on the table but he has not accepted it. No answer yet.’
Xavi was keen to keep the winger at the club as he said last month: “Negotiations are ongoing and we are going to be optimistic. I hope he can stay – he has helped us a lot during the last six months.
“He’s a decisive player with lots of assists and he has been excellent in many games. When he hasn’t played, we’ve missed him. He is a football player that I like and we’d like to stay, but we’ll have to see.”
Dembele registered 32 goals and 34 assists in 150 appearances for Barca, winning two Spanish titles.
