Xavi: I’m disappointed with Dembélé. He wants to go to PSG, they made him an offer we can’t compete with

Ousmane Dembélé will very soon swap Barcelona for PSG. Although he was happy in Catalonia last year and Xavi trusted him a lot, in Paris he got a financial offer that the Blaugranas won’t even come close to.

When Barcelona bought Dembélé from Dortmund for €135 million after one successful season, they were promising big things from him. The young Frenchman showed immense talent in the Bundesliga, racking up 10 goals and 17 assists, adorned mainly by his tremendous speed and great dribbling.

But at Barcelona he never developed his full potential. In his first years, he was constantly battling injuries, more often on the sidelines than on the pitch, until he became the butt of fan jokes.

There was also talk of his poor lifestyle, with frequent meals in fast food restaurants and late-night video games at the start of his engagement. All this had a bad effect on his performance.

In six seasons he never scored more than eight goals in La Liga. He added that amount in his second season, otherwise he ended the seasons with six, five, three and twice one goal.

Last winter, it looked like he would leave Catalonia. His contract was up in the summer and Dembélé made it clear he didn’t want to extend it. But then Xavi came in, gave the player a lot of confidence and the Frenchman returned it with improved performances.

He eventually signed a new two-year contract at Barcelona, but he won’t keep that one either. He is tempted by PSG, whose offer Dembélé has already accepted and is just waiting for the clubs to agree. After the game against AC Milan, Xavi also spoke about him.

“Yes, I’m a bit disappointed with Dembélé. He came to me saying he wanted to leave. He has an offer from PSG and we can’t do anything about it. He has received an offer that we cannot compete with,” Xavi said.

Barcelona really can’t splurge, they are under a lot of pressure because of their poor financial situation. Moreover, he is not the only player the Culés will lose to PSG.

Club alumnus, substitute goalkeeper and Spain U21 number one Arnau Tenas has also chosen to leave for Paris. His contract at Camp Nou was coming to an end and Barcelona offered him a new one with a reduced salary. However, PSG offered him two million euros a year more and Tenas is now a player of the Parisian club.

Source: Twitter, FC Barcelona