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With each passing hour, Ousmane Dembele seems to be edging closer to a transfer away to Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona despite the deadline for his €50 million release clause expiring last night.
Barça and PSG will now negotiate a transfer for the 26-year-old with the Catalans setting a five-day deadline for all parties to reach an agreement.
Dembele’s sudden decision to leave the club for PSG comes as a blow, given how important a cog he had been in the team under Xavi Hernandez.
Naturally, the manager made attempts to try and convince Dembele to reconsider his decision and continue at Barcelona, according to Mundo Deportivo.
Xavi cited Neymar’s problematic PSG stint
Xavi has been the biggest defender of Dembele and played a huge part in convincing the club and the player to continue their partnership by agreeing a new contract last year.
The 43-year-old tactician also managed to get the best out of the Frenchman over the past eighteen months or so while he was also relatively injury-free during that period.
The manager cited the example of former Barcelona superstar Neymar and his problematic spell in PSG to convince Dembele from changing his decision.
Neymar left Barça for PSG in 2017 for a world-record €222 million transfer fee, with Dembele coming in as a replacement for the Brazilian.
However, since joining the Parisian giants, Neymar has struggled to hit the heights expected and has yearned for a return to Barça, going as far as offering himself to the club on multiple occasions, including even this summer.
Dembele set for a big payday at PSG
Despite Xavi’s efforts, though, he has been unable to convince Dembele into reconsidering his stance about a move to PSG.
The Frenchman is understood to have already agreed a five-year contract with Les Parisiens and will stand to earn wages worth around €20 million per season.
A move now depends on the two clubs reaching an agreement over a transfer fee.
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