The relationship between FC Barcelona's management and its coaching staff, led by former star Xavi Hernández, has reached a breaking point with French star Ousmane Dembélé. This issue became public recently when the club's officials and the coach stated that Dembélé must leave immediately, before the end of January.
The short timeframe imposed by Barcelona for Dembélé's departure—about a week so far—has led to the involvement of a major English club, Chelsea, which decided to help Barcelona out of its predicament by offering 4 million euros for a loan deal until June, according to Spanish outlet "Onda Cero," which confirmed Chelsea's serious intentions.
The overall situation highlights Barcelona's significant failure to benefit from Dembélé. After spending 140 million euros on him since his transfer from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2017, they could potentially lose around 136 million euros if they manage to sell him to Chelsea for just 4 million euros.
Although this pertains to a "loan," it effectively acts as a "final sale," since Dembélé will be free from his contract with Barcelona next June. Ultimately, at the end of his loan to Chelsea, if it comes through, Barcelona will have no ties to him.
Barcelona had hoped Dembélé would agree to renew his contract, and negotiations had been ongoing for several months. However, the player and his agent have been stalling, according to Barcelona's management, until this January, placing the club in a difficult position. This month marks Barcelona's last opportunity to gain some money from the player, either through a departure or a contract renewal for a longer duration.
Dembélé was among the players hastily brought in by the previous Bartomeu administration, similar to Brazilian Philippe Coutinho, funded by Neymar's sale to PSG in the summer of 2017. However, Dembélé has disappointed, both through off-field behavior and minimal participation due to numerous injuries and lengthy absences from the pitch.
Throughout his career with Barcelona until this month, Dembélé has played only 129 matches, which is 100 matches fewer than expected, scoring 31 goals and assisting 23 across all competitions. This performance has led Catalan media to label him as "the failed transfer of all time in Barcelona's history," alongside Coutinho's signing, with both costing Barcelona 300 million euros with no significant technical or financial return.
