Barcelona have inserted an ‘anti-injury’ clause in Dembele’s new contract – report

Over the years, Barcelona winger Ousmane has had a host of injury troubles that have kept him on the sidelines for extended periods. And even though he would be out of action, the winger has collected hefty bonuses as part of the variable pay component of his contract.

However, in order to avoid a similar situation moving forward, Barcelona have inserted an ‘anti-injury’ clause in the Frenchman’s new contract to protect the club from the situations mentioned above, reports MARCA.

The report states that over the years, players at Barça have collected their full variables even though they have missed a large chunk of a season.

It happened because as per the clause inserted in the contracts for appearance-based bonuses, a player would meet the required conditions of 50% or more matches played even if he would feature in say five of the nine matches they would be available for that campaign.

And Barça are intent on avoiding such scenarios moving forward, which is why there is a special clause inserted in Dembele’s contract.

The 25-year-old, in the past, has been a beneficiary of the variable bonus loophole and is reported to have pocketed in excess of €2 million in a season even though he played less than 50% of the club’s official matches.

So, in order to ensure that it does not happen in the future, Barcelona have included a clause in his new contract by which the Frenchman will only collect the variables if he plays the stipulated percentage of official matches in a season, regardless of whether he is injured or not.

The report adds that something similar has been introduced in the contract of Samuel Umtiti as well, who is currently away on loan at Serie A side Lecce.

Dembele, though, has looked fitter and sharper than ever over the past year or so at Barcelona. Indeed, the French international has not had any injury issues in the recent past, with Xavi, Dr Ricard Pruna and physiotherapist Carlos Nogueira playing a key role behind his improved fitness levels.

Dembele has made a solid start to the new season, bagging two goals and four assists already from seven matches in all competitions.