Dembele Returns To FC Barcelona With PSG Move Possibly Canceled

Ousmane Dembele has returned to Catalonia to train with FC Barcelona on Sunday as reported by SPORT and Mundo Deportivo, as his expected move to Paris Saint-Germain remains on hold and could possibly be canceled.

Dembele was expected to seal his transfer to the Qatari-owned club this week for a €50 million ($50 million) fee.

With Xavi Hernandez giving his squad a few days’ holiday after returning from a preseason tour of the United States on Wednesday, Dembele took advantage of the break to head to Paris.

The 26-year-old was meant to complete his medical there and sign a five-year contract which will reportedly pay him €20 million ($22 million) a season.

With PSG’s legal department still waiting for necessary documents, however, these developments weren’t allowed to unfold.

As reported by SPORT, Barca pondered calling Dembele back to training at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper and would reach a decision before Saturday came to a close.

This appears to have already been made, with the same newspaper capturing the Frenchman arriving in a private terminal at Josep Tarradellas–El Prat Airport.

Both SPORT and Mundo Deportivo explain that Dembele is scheduled to lace up his boots and receive orders from Xavi once more on Sunday afternoon, as he still remains an FC Barcelona player.

Following news that the deal had been put on hold, RMC Sport in France reported that Dembele’s medical has been arranged for Monday.

In this case, he would have to train with Barca and then head back to Paris with his current club’s blessing later this evening.

According to Mundo Deportivo, Barca haven’t ruled out canceling the World Cup winner’s transfer while ever there is no agreement with his agent Moussa Sissoko over the split of the €50 million.

Dembele’s camp think the cash should be split down the middle, which is contested by the Catalans as they believe that some objectives for such a division haven’t been met.

What is more likely, however, is president Joan Laporta setting an August 21 deadline for everything to be resolved so as to put pressure on Dembele and PSG to finalize the deal.

If the transfer is wrapped up by then, Barca will still have 10 days to operate in the summer window before it closes and possibly pursue Bernardo Silva.

With their Ligue 1 campaign starting on August 12 against Lorient at the Parc des Princes, PSG and their manager Luis Enrique might also want to be able to count on Dembele for that fixture speeding things up.