Cristiano Ronaldo may have hoped Ousmane Dembele, a young high-quality winger, would join him at Al Nassr this summer, however, the Frenchman reportedly declined a 200 million euro contract with the Saudi Arabian team in an effort to regain his spot at Barcelona.
The French winger left Borussia Dortmund for Barcelona in a big-money transfer in 2017, but since the Catalans paid nine figures for him, he hasn’t performed to his full potential. His recurring injury issues have caused him to miss significant parts of every season and despite starting in France’s run to the 2022 World Cup final, his value continues to decrease in the eyes of the Barcelona hierarchy.
The Frenchman was reportedly offered a big-money deal if he chose to play in the Saudi Pro League, but Footymercato reports that the two-footed winger chooses to stay in Barca and try to earn a contract extension.
Dembele’s transfer to Al Nassr may have been a decent change of pace for him to regain his footing in professional football, with a big paycheque time stills ahead of him at age 25. Nonetheless, Dembele has declined the offer, preferring to restart his career and live up to his huge potential in Barcelona, or somewhere among Europe’s top sides if that fails.