Ousmane Dembele has reportedly rejected Barcelona’s latest contract offer amid interest from Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain.
The 26-year-old winger is facing an uncertain future at Camp Nou as he has entered the final year of his contract.
PSG have stepped up their interest in Dembele in recent weeks as they seek to replace star attacker Kylian Mbappe, who has been placed on the transfer list after opting against extending his contract at the Parc des Princes, allowing him to leave for free in June 2024.
The French giants allegedly accepted a world-record €300m (£259m) bid from Al-Hilal for Mbappe at the end of last month, but the 24-year-old – who has also been linked with Real Madrid and clubs in the Premier League – has refused to enter negotiations with the Saudi Pro League club.
With Mbappe’s future at PSG still up in the air, Luis Enrique’s side are said to be exploring a move for France international Dembele, and they have asked Barcelona for permission to speak with the winger.
PSG had until the end of Monday to activate the €50m (£42.8m) release clause in Dembele’s contract, but they are claimed to have beaten to deadline to trigger the clause and now have five days to negotiate his transfer from Barcelona.
Dembele is believed to have been informed of PSG’s interest and has allegedly given the green light to make the move to Paris and sign a five-year deal.
Barcelona are keen to keep hold of Dembele, but Catalan news outlet RAC1, via the Daily Mail, reports that the winger has rejected the club’s latest contract offer.
The report adds that Dembele is looking for a wage package between £5m (£4.3m) and £6m (£5.1m), but Barca’s contract offer falls short of that valuation.
Barcelona’s Sergi Roberto recently played down suggestions that Dembele could leave Camp Nou this summer, but head coach Xavi has refused to rule out a possible summer departure for the winger.
Since joining Barca from Borussia Dortmund for around €135m (£115.5m) in 2017, Dembele has made 185 appearances for the Catalan giants in all competitions, scoring 40 goals and registering 43 assists.
The Frenchman, who chipped in with eight goals and nine assists in 35 games for Barca last season, has won seven trophies during his time with the club including three La Liga titles.
Dembele was on the scoresheet in Barcelona’s 3-0 pre-season victory over Spanish rivals Real Madrid in Texas last weekend, but it remains to be seen if he will feature in Wednesday’s encounter with AC Milan in Nevada.
