Barcelona boss Xavi has been left ‘speechless by Ousmane Dembele’s £700,000 a week wage demands’ as Frenchman’s summer exit looms with Bayern Munich showing interest
- Barcelona boss Xavi has been left ‘speechless’ by Ousmane Dembele’s demands
- The winger is out of contract in the summer and is demanding £700,000 a week
- Bayern Munich are interested but will be put off due to those wage demands
Barcelona manager Xavi has reportedly been left speechless by Ousmane Dembele’s contract renewal demands.
Dembele joined the club for £96million from Borussia Dortmund in 2017, but his deal runs down at the end of the season and he is yet to commit to a renewal.
Talks are ongoing over an extension beyond the end of the current contract but an agreement looks to be no closer.
Ousmane Dembele is in talks with Barca over a new contract but an agreement is not close
According to Florian Plettenberg, Xavi was ‘nearly speechless’ when he got informed that Dembele is demanding around £700,000 a week.
The winger has struggled to stay fit since joining the club in 2017. He has made just 86 LaLiga appearances during that time, with just three starts this season.
Nevertheless, Dembele has been linked with a number of clubs including Bayern Munich but the big wage demands have made a move to Germany ‘almost impossible’.
Barca are currently in a rebuild after years of mismanagement left them in a financial crisis and behind other big European clubs.
Barcelona boss Xavi was left almost speechless by Dembele’s contract renewal demands
Philippe Coutinho sealed a return to the Premier League on Friday after joining Aston Villa
They’ve signed Ferran Torres from Manchester City for £55million but won’t be able to register him until they lower their wage bill, in compliance with LaLiga’s financial fair play rules.
Although it’s temporary, the departure of Philippe Coutinho will come as a relief. The Brazilian sealed a return to the Premier League on Friday after joining Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa for the rest of the season.
Following a woeful start to the campaign, Barca are now fifth in the league – just two points behind third-placed Real Betis.
