Liverpool have golden chance for £30m transfer that passes FSG test
Published date | 22 January 2022 |
But there have been names linked more than others, some that make a lot more sense both in football and financial terms.
Ousmane Dembele has been one of those names.
A player who had a £135m fee paid for his services by Barcelona as a 20-year-old in 2017 in a deal that had a buyout clause of £330m, is now linked once more as his time with the Catalan giants, one that has been beset by injury problems, has taken another ugly turn.
French international Dembele has been told he can leave Barcelona, with director Mateu Alemany stating: "We understand Dembele's decision not to continue, and we also informed him of our decision, we want committed players. Dembele has to leave as soon as possible and we've told him that.
"We told Dembele he has to leave immediately. We expect Ousmane to be sold before January 31."
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That comes after Dembele's agent, Moussa Sissoko, had made public a bitter row between club and player over the way Barcelona had sought to expedite the process of Dembele penning a new contract on reduced terms with the La Liga giants, who have been severely impacted financially during the pandemic.
Sissoko told RMC Sport in France: "They're putting the pressure on, but it doesn't work with people like us. Maybe it works with agents who are close to Barcelona. That's not the case with me, I'm here to defend my player's interests.
"We're not here to react to debates on social media, but the truth has to be said. Yes, we have high demands, but we've shown in the past that Ousmane's career choices are not dictated by money, else he wouldn't be here."
Dembele is out of contract in the summer and there will be undoubtedly be plenty of suitors for a player who cost £135m in 2017 and is still yet to celebrate his 25th birthday.
Barcelona, however, will want to try and cash in now on what has turned out to be another financial disaster similar to the one that...
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