Ousmane Dembele has re-signed with Barcelona, extending his contract until 2024 after having seen his previous deal expire at the end of the last month.
After months together of speculations and rumours, Barcelona have officially confirmed that Ousmane Dembele has signed a new two-year contract with the club, almost two weeks after his previous deal ran out.
Dembele has been with Barcelona since 2017 when he joined from Borussia Dortmund in a deal worth around €130 million. However, his time at Camp Nou has largely been marred by injury problems and issues off the field.
Dembele had entered the final year of his contract last summer and talks over a renewal had been going on ever since but without much success. The Frenchman looked set to leave in January after refusing Barcelona’s contract offer, but he refused to depart.
Following that, it seemed like the winger would be sent to the stands for the remainder of the campaign, but Xavi brought him back into the fold. Dembele shone brightly under the 42-year-old manager, finishing the 2021/22 campaign with 13 assists. His form and the manager’s insistence on keeping hold of him compelled Barcelona to restart negotiations over a new contract.
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— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) July 14, 2022
However, once again, the two parties could not come to an agreement as Dembele’s demands were deemed too high by Barcelona. Eventually, the 25-year-old winger became a free agent when his deal expired on June 30. The 2018 FIFA World Cup winner was on the radars of Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain, but they decided to look elsewhere, leaving him without any major suitor.
That and the fact that Xavi still wanted him to renew at Barcelona has seemingly convinced Dembele to re-sign with the Catalan giants. As per the update, the Frenchman will be signing a two-year contract that will run until the summer of 2024.
It has been reported that Dembele’s base salary will be lower than what he previously used to earn, with his new deal largely built on performance-based bonuses. Following the signing of Raphinha earlier this week, the renewal of Dembele will come as a boost for Barcelona, who were tipped to struggle in the transfer market this summer.
Xavi’s side will now focus their sights on signing Bayern Munich superstar Robert Lewandowski, while Sevilla centre-back Jules Kounde is another priority target for the Catalans.
