The Photo That Indicates Ousmane Dembele Is Staying At FC Barcelona After All

Ousmane Dembele is a free man on June 30, as the five-year contract he signed when joining FC Barcelona from Borussia Dortmund in a then-club record €105mn ($116mn) deal in 2017 is set to expire.

The Frenchman has dragged his heels as per penning a new deal with the Blaugrana, with his agent Moussa Sissoko playing hardball and badly advising his charge while making exorbitant demands of an outfit already mired in around $1.5bn’s worth of debt.

According to reports, Sissoko wanted “Neymar money” from the Catalans of €30mn ($33mn) gross per season with further add-ons for the amount of games played by the World Cup winner plus a €15mn ($16.6mn) commission and a €30mn ($33mn) euros renewal bonus.

Quite rightly, Dembele and Sissoko were laughed out of court, with the 24-year-old, like Ilaix Moriba last term, looking destined to watch the rest of the season from the stands.

New first team head coach Xavi Hernandez astutely didn’t agree with such an approach, however, and displayed his excellent man-management skills by taking the forward under his wing.

To the benefit of both the player and the first team, Xavi has revived the previously sulking “Mosquito” and has extracted top form from him. A player once booed by the Camp Nou faithful for his contract stance is now cheered and racks up assists for fun, and a photo taken yesterday indicates that Dembele’s future may lie in Catalonia after all.

As he trained at the Nef Stadium on Wednesday preparing for this evening’s vital Europa League last 16 second leg clash away at Galatasaray, Dembele received a big hug from the president that would hardly be reserved for someone who is on his way out of the club in just under three months and a fortnight.

Barca are adamant that the offer they presented to Dembele is final and he must take it, but events at other potential suitors such as Chelsea and Juventus suggests the door might be closed to him there too. With Xavi tipping the “exemplary” professional to become the best in the world in his position, the youngster’s head might finally have been swayed in the right direction.