Ousmane Dembele has hit back at Barcelona after they revealed that they’ve told him to leave the club immediately.
The Blaugrana had been trying to renew the Frenchman’s contract for several months but have made little progress. His current deal will expire at the end of this season.
Mateu Alemany made a statement this morning when he revealed that Dembele needs to leave the club during the January transfer window rather than wait until his contract expires.
Dembele wasn’t impressed. “For four years people have spoken for me, shamefully lied with a single purpose, the intention of harming me,” he said as carried by Fabrizio Romano. “I have been following my line of never answering for four years. Has it been a mistake? Surely. It’s over.”
Dembele joined Barcelona in the summer of 2017 to replace Neymar, who had just departed for Paris Saint-Germain. But things haven’t worked out how either party intended.
The 24-year-old has been afflicted by a succession of injuries and when he has played he’s been unable to maintain consistency.
He’s played 129 games since joining Barcelona, contributing 31 goals and 23 assists in that period. Given Barcelona paid €140m for him, it’s fair to consider that to be underperformance.
Ousmane Dembélé: “For four years people have spoken for me, shamefully lied with a single purpose, the intention of harming me. I have been following my line of never answering for four years. Has it been a mistake? Surely. It’s over”. 🔴🇫🇷 #Dembele
Full Dembouz statement ⤵️📑 pic.twitter.com/VsXOVVj1fb
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 20, 2022