Barcelona Asks Dembélé to Leave "As Soon As Possible"

The Spanish club Barcelona has requested its French forward Ousmane Dembélé to leave the club as soon as possible, after deciding to halt the renewal of his contract which is set to expire in June of this year. Coach Xavi Hernández excluded Dembélé from the squad traveling to face Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey on Thursday. Regarding this, the club's sporting director, Mateu Alemany, stated: "We have been trying with Dembélé for several months to extend his contract and have made more than one offer, but today we know very well that Dembélé does not want to continue with the club, and we have asked him to leave as soon as possible." He continued: "We want to keep committed players in the team, and Dembélé is the complete opposite of that, which is why coach Xavi decided to exclude him from the squad." Dembélé is considered the third most expensive signing in Barcelona's history when he was signed in the summer of 2017 for 105 million.