Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele has decided that any deal taking him to Paris Saint-Germain will not involve him activating his release clause today, according to the latest coming out of Catalonia.
The French side could repatriate Dembele for €50m before August, when his release clause rises to €100m. Yet of that €50m, half of it would have been due to Dembele and his agent Moussa Sissoko.
Dembele does not want to leave Barcelona on bad terms though, and has asked the two clubs to reach a deal for him – it is worth bearing in mind he only has a year remaining on his deal too.
The French winger has been given official power to negotiate on behalf of Barcelona, and reach a deal they find acceptable in the next five days, as per MD. As things stand, he will travel to Las Vegas with the team for their final preseason friendly.
🚨 CONFIRMATION: Ousmane Dembélé will make the trip to Las Vegas. The player has told Barça that the deal has to be settled by a transfer fee and not by the release clause. @ferrancorreas
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) July 31, 2023
Barcelona are aware that Dembele has agreed a five-year deal with PSG though, and if they want to make any money on his departure, now will be their only opportunity. It should be noted that Relevo also claim that the plan for PSG is still to activate his release clause this evening.
🚨 The plan is still for PSG to pay Dembélé’s €50m release clause. @MatteMoretto
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) July 31, 2023
Save for a radical change of tack, Barcelona are set to lose their most dangerous forward, and all that remains to be decided is how much they will make. The Blaugrana must now work out how much money they can bring in, and how they can best use it. With Ferran Torres and Raphinha capable of playing at right-wing, they may well decide to invest that money elsewhere.