Barcelona will try different formulas to renew contract rebel – report

The contract situation of Ousmane Dembele continues to be a puzzle that Barcelona are finding extremely hard to solve.

At one point not very long ago, it looked like the matter had been closed and the Frenchman would be departing on a free transfer in the summer when his current deal expired.

But things have changed in recent months. The 24-year-old is playing some of his finest football in Blaugrana colours and is enjoying life under Xavi Hernandez. The manager has managed to get the best out of the forward and wants to keep him at the club.

Dembele is understood to have admitted privately to the manager and his teammates that he wishes to continue at Camp Nou. It has forced Barcelona to reopen talks with the French winger’s entourage over a possible extension.

Director Mateu Alemany flew to Marrakesh earlier this week to hold a meeting with Dembele’s agents, Moussa Sissoko and Marco Lichtsteiner, regarding the situation.

While no major progress was achieved, the Barcelona official returned with a positive feeling that the player has no agreement with any other club, even though he has some lucrative offers on the table, especially from PSG.

This has given Barça an encouragement to start devising plans and formulae to table an enticing enough proposal that can convince Dembele and his camp to pen a new deal, reports Mundo Deportivo.

As per the report, Dembele understands that the club’s hands are tied due to the financial situation and La Liga’s salary cap limits and would be open to accepting an innovative contract involving a larger percentage of variables, as he trusts Xavi and believes he will be a regular in the lineup.

Barcelona are working on chalking out such proposals that could be lucrative enough without burdening the club’s finances and staying within La Liga’s Financial Fair Play rules. A meeting between the two parties could take place next week and they want to have a proposal ready for then.

The major sticking point in negotiations, as per the report, would be Dembele’s agents’ demands of a signing-on fee. Since he will be a free agent in the summer, the representatives want Barça to offer him a hefty renewal fee, as he would be given a signing-on bonus if he joined a different club.

The Blaugrana are reluctant to do so, as they believe they have already made a huge investment in the 2018 World Cup winner, having spent over €100 million for him in 2017 and paid significant wages over the years despite his fitness issues.

It seems like both Dembele and Barcelona want the same thing, but everything will hinge on how negotiations between the two parties go over the coming weeks.