Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi was reportedly furious that the club failed to offload Ousmane Dembele to Manchester United in the transfer window just gone.
The France international was linked strongly as a loan target for Man Utd, but ultimately the deal never materialised as the Red Devils missed out on a number of their top targets, including Jadon Sancho.
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Dembele could have been a decent alternative out wide for United, even if he’s struggled to live up to expectations in his time at the Nou Camp so far.
It’s unsurprising, though, that Messi is annoyed that Barca failed to get rid of the struggling forward, with Don Balon reporting that he’s also angered at Samuel Umtiti still being at the club.
Barcelona endured a nightmare season in 2019/20 and needed a major rebuild this summer, though they failed to make the signings they needed, partly due to being unable to sell flops like Dembele and Umtiti.
The Catalan giants had been linked with Memphis Depay as a possible replacement for Dembele in attack, but they couldn’t afford the deal once Dembele ended up staying.
Messi himself looked set to leave Barcelona, and this development seems unlikely to change his mind about committing his future to the club.