Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez said on Tuesday that Ousmane Dembele is set to leave the club after receiving an offer from Paris Saint-Germain.
Dembele, 26, was left on the bench as Barcelona completed their North American pre-season tour with a 1-0 victory against AC Milan in Las Vegas on Tuesday.
Despite failing to trigger Ousmane Dembele’s release clause, Paris Saint-Germain is still in talks with Barcelona about a major deal this summer. As per reports, Dembele has already accepted personal terms with PSG, who will pay the La Liga release clause of 50 million euros because of a private clause in the Frenchmen’s current contract.
Following that, Hernandez told Spanish television that French international Dembele, who scored in last weekend’s win against Real Madrid in Dallas, had been left out after informing Barcelona he wanted to leave.
“I will be very clear,” Hernandez said. “He has asked us that he wants to leave, he has been very direct, that he has a proposal from Paris Saint-Germain, that they have called him from there and here we cannot do anything. It is his personal decision. To me, it hurts me because I think we have taken great care of him here so that he is happy and content and continues to make a difference for us.” He added, “But he says that he has this proposal and that he has decided to leave. That is why he has not played today.”
Dembele, who joined Barcelona in 2017, has 1 year left on his deal with the La Liga giants.