Ousmane Dembele has been the subject of intense transfer rumours seeing him move to the Premier League following failed contract talks with Barcelona.
However, the Barcelona winger, who has been linked with moves to Manchester United and Arsenal among others this month, hit back at current club Barcelona stating that he would not give in to threats of blackmail.
You can read his full statement below in Fabrizio Romano’s tweet.
Ousmane Dembélé: “For four years people have spoken for me, shamefully lied with a single purpose, the intention of harming me. I have been following my line of never answering for four years. Has it been a mistake? Surely. It’s over”. ??? #Dembele
Full Dembouz statement ??? pic.twitter.com/VsXOVVj1fb
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 20, 2022
Dembele has been in negotiations with the Blaugrana to extend his current deal beyond this summer, but as those talks have ground to a halt Barcelona have given the green light to allow Dembele to be sold this month rather than be lost for nothing in the coming summer.
Since his massive £126m move to Barcelona from Borussia Dortmund in 2017, Dembele has been hit with a cascade of injury problems that have stunted his career and made it difficult for him to consistently get game time and form throughout his time there.
Now 24 years old, the 2018 World Cup winner is expected to have a list of suitor clubs vying for his signature given his talent.
However, he may be forced to take a pay cut to join one of Europe’s major clubs, excluding Premier League clubs, after his stock has fallen during his ill-fated time at Barcelona.
He has scored 31 times and assisted 23 times in 129 games for the Catalan giants, winning two La Liga’s with the club.