Barcelona president Joan Laporta has revealed that Ousmane Dembele rejected “two good offers” in January to remain at the club.
Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain are both reportedly interested in signing the France winger, who is out of contract at the end of the season.
Clubs are able to negotiate a pre-contract agreement with Dembele ahead of a free transfer in the summer.
Tottenham won the window, Arsenal nailed it too…
There have been rumours that Barcelona are prepared to terminate the player’s contract as they are desperate to get his £210,000 weekly wage off their books.
This comes after Dembele rejected a new contract offer as well as two opportunities to leave the Catalan club in the winter transfer window.
Barcelona president Laporta – who set an asking price of £18million – admits he was “surprised” that the 24-year-old opted not to leave last month.
“We had made a good offer for him to renew his contract and stay, but it became a financial issue and he wanted more,” Laporta said (quotes via USA Today Sports).
“We showed him two good offers (at the transfer deadline) for him to play with another club during these last six months, the last one from an English club, and he didn’t accept them and preferred to stay here. We were surprised.
“It’s hard to understand,” he added.
Meanwhile, Pierre-Emerick Aubamayeng’s move to Barcelona is not yet official but the Gabon striker was pictured training with his new team-mates on Tuesday.
The ex-Arsenal captain arrived in Spain on Monday morning, sparking rumours of a loan move to the LaLiga side although confusion reigned as no agreement had been reached as deadline day drew on.
The make-up of the deal, which essentially saw Aubameyang released from his £250,000-a-week basic salary at the Emirates Stadium, means he can join the Catalan giants outside of the transfer window.
It is believed Arsenal were holding back on announcing the departure of Aubameyang, four years to the day since he signed from Borussia Dortmund, as a gesture of respect to Barcelona, whose president, Joan Laporta, said on Tuesday that the official unveiling may come later in the week.
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