FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta has issued a hopeful comment that Ousmane Dembele will sign for the Catalan side this month despite reported interest from Liverpool and the club’s recurring financial problems.
Speaking to the press via Mundo Deportivo, the La Liga official claimed that Dembele will sign for Barcelona again if he is willing to meet with the club’s conditions, with Laporta stating that the Frenchman never penned a new contract because of the financial problems plaguing the European giants.
As we all know, Barcelona’s money issues have been a major factor in the club’s crazy past 12 months, with the Catalan side this summer focusing on free agent transfers and relying in bank loans to sign players who could cost transfer fees, such as Leeds United star Raphinha.
And it is these problems that also caused Dembele to become a free agent this summer, with Liverpool reportedly interested in signing the former Borussia Dortmund star following his exit from Barcelona, though Laporta is keen to tie the attacker down to a new deal.
Signed for a reported £136m back in 2017, Dembele showed arguably his best form ever for Barcelona in the second half of last season under Xavi Hernandez, with the club working tirelessly since then to pin the forward down to a new contract, something Laporta is quietly confident about.
The Barcelona president said when asked about the future of the Liverpool target following his departure from the Camp Nou: “Dembele is no longer a Barcelona player, but the issue is economic. If he accepts our conditions, Dembele will stay at Barcelona.”
Barcelona seem likely to sign Dembele despite financial problems
Dembele’s transfer saga has been one of the longest and most tiresome in football, yet despite links to the likes of Liverpool, it looks like the club that will sign the talented attacker this summer will be none other than Barcelona, the team who have only just discovered how to get the best out of the winger after four years.
Indeed, it is ironic that Barcelona are so keen on keeping Dembele after trying to offload the forward for so many years, but with Laporta’s disregard for the club’s financial position still non-existent, the Catalan side now seem likely to bear Liverpool and company to the signing for the France international.
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