Football
PSG transfers: Ousmane Dembele in, Kylian Mbappe out as Barcelona boss is left ‘disappointed’
Barcelona boss, Xavi feels ‘disappointed’ with the imminent departure of his forward Ousmane Dembele.
Dembele will depart Spotify Camp Nou for Parc des Princes according to the report reaching National Daily. Xavi has confirmed that Dembele will leave Barcelona after PSG triggered his £43million release clause.
The development could be in connection with the indecisive nature of future of Kylian Mbappe’s future at PSG.
Meanwhile, PSG had triggered the clause before the end of Monday’s deadline before it would have doubled in price. The Ligue 1 champions now have until Sunday to complete the deal.
Xavi however felt ‘a little disappointed’ as he was hoping that Dembele would remain at Barcelona despite PSG’s approach.
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Speaking to TV3 after a 1-0 friendly win over AC Milan in Las Vegas, Xavi said: ‘I will be very clear. Dembele has asked us to leave. He has a proposal from PSG and that’s why he didn’t play.
‘It’s a pity. I’m a little disappointed with Dembele. It leaves a bad taste to me because we had taken great care of him here so that he is happy and content and continues to make a difference for us.
‘But we cannot match an offer from PSG that is completely out of the market.’
He added: ‘I tried to convince Dembele to stay but he told me that he has already spoken to Luis Enrique and [Nasser] Al-Khelaifi and there was no way to convince him.
‘It’s final and it’s his personal decision. If a footballer doesn’t want to be at Barca, they have to be let go.’
Team-mate Sergio Roberto was also asked about Dembele’s decision and said: ‘It’s a shame he’s leaving. He’s been here for many years and the squad loves him.
‘We all told him that, but he has decided to take another decision. We’re very sad about that, but we have to look forward.’