On the afternoon of January 20, Beijing time, Barca officially announced the list of players in the Round of 16 of the Copa del Rey against Bilba, of which Dembele was not unexpectedly selected. Due to the unsuccessful contract extension, Dembele and Barca have recently had a very unpleasant quarrel. In an interview with Barca director Alemani, we learned that the club had issued a departure notice to the players.
Since joining Barca in 2017, Dembele has played just 130 games for the club, contributing just 31 goals and 23 assists. Based on his transfer fee of 140 million, the average goal costs the club 450W euros. If you look at the efficiency of the game, Dembele's data can barely pass. But what infuriates all Barca members the most is Dembele's injuries every season.
After more than four seasons with the team, he spent almost half of his time recuperating from injuries. In the 19-20 season, Dembele even played only nine games for Barca. In the most of the year, Dembele made only 44 appearances. You know, for a big club like Barcelona, 44 appearances are just the passing level of the team's regular main force.
Dembele's contract with the team will expire this summer, and the offer he made to the club was outrageous: he signed for 5 years with an annual salary of 4,000 W Euros and demanded a signing fee of 4,000 W Euros. Such an offer, even the richest Newcastle club in Europe at present, has thought twice, not to mention Barcelona, which is currently in a deep financial crisis.
Many media people believe that Dembele's sky-high price is a clear intention for the club to give up on him and let him get free in the summer. In the face of Dembele's impersonal approach, Barca coach Xavi has made it clear that the club's interests are always first.
Previously, Harvey said that even if Dembele chooses not to renew his contract, it may not necessarily drive him out of the squad. But judging by the latest situation, Harvey also made his choice. Barca club director Alemani said that regarding Dembele's contract extension, in fact, it has been talking since July last year, but it has been rejected by the other side. What Dembele has always refused is clearly already an enraged Barca executive. With 11 days left in the winter window, the club said it had informed the player's agent, asking him to find his next home as soon as possible.
Once Dembele leaves, Barca's 300 million transactions in recent years will be defined as all failures. Since the summer of 2017, Barca have signed Dembele, Coutinho and Griezmann for transfer fees of more than 100 million yuan, with a total cost of nearly 400 million yuan for the three.
Now that Coutinho and Griezmann have been loaned off, it is unlikely that they will return to Barca. Once Dembele leaves the team, then the "400 million flying together" that fans have previously ridiculed will become a reality.