Ousmane Dembélé was able to play his last game as a Barça player this Wednesday. As if he were a metaphor for his future, he made it as far away as possible, in the Antipodes. The Frenchman tried to say goodbye with a certain dignity, with a goal and a participatory spirit in Sydney. A distant goodbye in the southern autumn.
Five seasons later, it seems that, now, this is the end of Dembélé at Barça. The second most expensive transfer in the history of the Barça club (105 million plus 40 in variables) has been weighed down by injuries for more than three years. Only in the last year and a half, especially from January to here, has he been able to show the footballer he has inside. With his imperfections, he has given 13 assists despite not playing the first 14 games of the course, and has shown that, without injuries, he can be a playable player even if his decision-making is sometimes not the best. Xavi likes his imbalance. He said it from the first day (“well managed he can be the best player in the world in his position”), but the club does not have the same opinion.
Surely, then, the best Dembélé, now that he points to his maturity, must be seen far from Barcelona. Last Monday there was the last meeting between Moussa Sissoko, his representative, and Mateu Alemany, who is trying to get rid of the case as soon as possible. There was no agreement, and it is difficult to think that the parties will come to an agreement. At Barça they have suspected for months that the winger has signed a contract with Paris Saint-Germain, but the situation of instability also in the Parisian club, from which Leonardo can jump, also created doubts. In any case, Alemany and Sissoko have no longer set a date for a new meeting, but perhaps to maintain a new contact… That suggests that the renewal options are minimal.