On Saturday evening in Arlington, Texas, Ousmane Dembele picked up the ball on the right of Real Madrid’s penalty box after a defence-splitting pass from Pedri.
Dembele took one touch and steadied himself before firing a fierce low shot past Thibaut Courtois; a clinical finish. Barcelona’s other players celebrated the opening goal of the night with him, and Xavi’s defending La Liga champions went on to a 3-0 win in that pre-season Clasico.
But off the pitch, there was reason to worry. Earlier that day, Barca had received a communication from Paris Saint-Germain, in which the French champions signalled their intention to meet a €50million (£42.9m, $54.9m) clause in Dembele’s contract and discuss personal terms with the 26-year-old France international.
That Dembele could be acquired for this price appeared to come as a big and rather unpleasant surprise for senior executives at the Catalan club. One such figure — speaking anonymously as they did not have permission to comment — had described that day in aggressive terms how Barca planned to refuse to negotiate. They did not seem to be aware or understand they would actually be forced to accept the €50million deal and part with the player.
We’ll examine that remarkable situation in more detail a little later.
Again, that €50million sum might seem low for a forward of Dembele’s quality. It is true to say he has not shone as brightly as many expected since moving to the Camp Nou from Borussia Dortmund for a joint club-record €135m in August 2017 — but last season he finally showed signs of producing his very best (before suffering an injury in late January that kept him out until April) and Xavi has always considered him a key player.
The reasons why that release clause was created date back to the start of last year, when Dembele might have left Barcelona on a free. And actually, its terms mean the club will only be entitled to half of the €50million — although, as we will also explain, they plan on disputing that.
Dembele scored against Madrid in Texas on Saturday (Photo: Aric Becker/AFP via Getty Images)
In January 2022, with negotiations over a new deal having reached a deadlock and with Dembele’s existing contract set to expire that summer, Barcelona’s sporting director Mateu Alemany stated that it had been decided the Frenchman would not play for the first team so long as his situation remained unresolved.
Eventually, Xavi and other dressing-room influences got the club to take a step back. Dembele also stressed his willingness to stay, and a two-year deal was finally agreed in the July — after his previous contract had expired. This new agreement included a €100million release clause, but there was a further concession made to the player: another clause that would allow him to leave for €50m if a club offered that amount before July 31, 2023.
A senior Barcelona source said this detail was not technically a release clause but “a contract of transfer obligation” between the club and Dembele. It would see Barca receive half of the €50million and the player the other €25m.
Whereas the €100million release clause would have to be triggered through an official and more complicated process involving La Liga — which holds Dembele’s registration — this “contract of transfer obligation” simply compelled Barca to accept any bid of €50m. Not everybody at the Catalan club realised this, and that is why there was such confusion at the weekend.
The “contract of transfer obligation” was conceded by Barca as a way to offset the pay cut Dembele was taking to stay last summer, with the club in such a difficult position financially (they are still struggling to meet La Liga spending rules now).
On Tuesday night, a senior club source, who like all further sources cited in this article preferred to speak anonymously in order to protect relationships, said Barcelona would “have a big compensation to pay” if they had refused to honour it. “It was whether to have Dembele on risky conditions or just not have him,” the source added. “We exposed the situation to the manager (Xavi) and he led to the decision to sign the extension.”
Xavi has often praised Dembele (Photo: David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images)
Only a few weeks ago, Barcelona’s coaching staff had assumed Dembele would sign an extension to that deal agreed last July. By Sunday night, everyone at the club had accepted he was on his way out, but some still hoped to be able to sell him for something closer to €100million — despite that not being contractually possible.
On Monday — July 31 — confusion reigned.
Nervous minds focused on what they mistakenly thought of as an impending deadline that night. Some club figures thought PSG had to conclude Dembele’s transfer by the end of Monday or the opportunity to sign him for €50million would be gone. They thought time was on their side, and that they were in a position of strength. In reality, as became apparent later, there was still a three-week window in which to seal the deal.
By yesterday (Tuesday), there was full acknowledgement at Barcelona that the club were about to lose one of their best players for a fee well below what they consider to be his true value.
These are the fundamentals of a fascinating story that unfolded over a remarkable few days, even by Barca’s standards of high drama, as they, PSG and Dembele were caught up in a rapidly changing trans-Atlantic transfer saga.
But there are still plenty more details for us to share…
Two months ago, Barcelona submitted a formal proposal to Dembele to extend the contract he signed last July until 2027.
The club’s feelings about the situation were positive. The relationship between the player and Xavi was still close, and in an interview with Spanish news outlet Marca, Dembele himself said negotiations were “going very well”.
“I am happy at the team, also at home, in Barcelona. My representative will talk to them. We’ll see what happens with the matter,” he added.
Barcelona had been told by Dembele’s entourage that his main priority was to stay with them. It didn’t seem to be the case that he had any potential suitors. It looked like just a matter of time before an agreement on a new deal would be reached.
On Friday however, things started to get noisy.
In Spain, sports daily Diario AS published a story stating that PSG were determined to go all in for Dembele if fellow forward Kylian Mbappe was to be sold. Hours later, French media’s RMC Sport claimed Dembele would be a PSG player by the end of this window.
Barcelona’s on-tour squad were travelling from Los Angeles to Dallas at the time, for the following day’s Clasico at the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium.
Club figures had heard the rumours but had not received any formal notification of interest from the French capital. Some senior executives thought the reports might be part of a negotiating manoeuvre from the player’s camp, seeking a stronger hand during talks.
The coaching staff insisted they saw Dembele as being fully committed to the team on and off the pitch. His attitude in training was good, and he was about to be selected as a starter for the game against Madrid.
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Some sources close to the first team thought there would be a bigger chance of seeing Raphinha leave this summer than Dembele — the Frenchman’s bond with Xavi and his role in the dressing room was stronger than ever (Xavi has always praised him highly, and was key in convincing him to stay last summer).
But the picture began to change dramatically on Saturday.
Barca received a formal letter from PSG, stating their intention to pay €50million to sign Dembele and asking for permission to discuss terms with him.
Shortly after that communication arrived, Alemany and Dembele had a meeting in the Dallas hotel where the team were staying.
Alemany had heard Dembele was starting to believe Barcelona only wanted him to extend his contract in order to then sell him and make themselves more money, so he offered assurances that their priority was for Dembele to be a key part of Xavi’s group for the season ahead — and that there was no hidden agenda behind their proposal over a revised deal.
One of the factors that made Dembele change his mind and listen to PSG, according to sources at the French club, was learning that Barca had explored the option of sending him and midfielder Gavi to the French side on loan in exchange for Mbappe. However, Barcelona sources denied earlier in the week that they had entertained making any kind of offer for the France captain.
Dembele then played that night, and impressed in a winning side. Asked to comment on the player’s future after the match, Xavi said: “We can’t control how the market works. He is really settled and adapted to the team. Since I’ve been manager, he’s been telling us he’s really satisfied and feels part of the family, but it’s up to him.”
🇺🇸✈️ DFW ➡️ LAS pic.twitter.com/9yKcTmihmZ
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) July 31, 2023
The next day, Barca were informed that PSG had offered personal terms to Dembele. The package was described as “something impossible (for Barcelona) to match” by club sources in Dallas.
By this point, some of Dembele’s team-mates — although they were not fully aware of all the ins and outs of the situation — admitted they were starting to feel as if he was set to go. As much as Dembele has become a loved figure in the dressing room, those who have been close to the player also concede he is a particular character; no team-mate would have been surprised if he had boarded a private jet and left America mid-tour.
Dembele’s agent now came back to Barcelona with a counter-offer of what it would take for Dembele to re-sign with them.
With the leverage PSG’s interest provided his camp, this included a demand to improve his annual salary by €6million (before tax) while adding multiple add-ons, club sources said. Barca felt they could not meet those terms — and claim the proposal they submitted to Dembele last month would have placed him among the top four earners in the squad. Sources close to Dembele said they believed Barca found selling the player a convenient option as they seek to raise funds.
“We just can’t get there and we won’t move from the position we have right now,” a club source told The Athletic. “Barcelona can’t repeat the same mistakes (as in previous years) and offer the same contracts the club did in the past. It’s a matter of market value, but also the comparison effect it would have with the dressing room. We have to keep the harmony there. We believe this has been the origin of all problems with Dembele.”
At that moment, around midday Sunday local time (7pm in Spain and France), Xavi was in close contact with the player, and he did not hold back in making clear how crucial he is to Barcelona, in his eyes. He also used the example of Neymar to try to change Dembele’s mind, claiming the Brazilian regretted his 2017 move from Barca to PSG and had pushed for a way out in recent years, with a return to the Camp Nou his preferred option.
Eventually, there was not much more Xavi could do. The only thing left to settle was the circumstances of Dembele’s departure — including how much Barcelona would earn from it.
Alemany, left, and Barca president Joan Laporta (Photo: David Benito/Getty Images)
The prospect of losing Dembele for just €50million, and then the club only receiving half of that sum, was a desperate one. Some at the club still thought that outcome could be avoided — but they were mistaken.
Some senior club figures believed Dembele would have to appear in person at La Liga headquarters in Madrid for the €50million clause to be activated — and that he would have to abandon the U.S. tour to do so, with time running out before it expired at 23:59 CET (Spanish time) on Monday.
At that point, there was a sufficient concern for the club to delay their flight from Dallas to Las Vegas, where they were to play their next pre-season game (against AC Milan on Tuesday night/early Wednesday Spanish time). Barca moved it back to 4pm local time — 11pm in Spain, less than an hour before the release clause was to expire.
The important thing to note again, here, is that PSG’s €50million bid was enough to activate Barca’s “contract of transfer obligation” with Dembele, and that time was not a factor at all.
During the three-hour flight — which ended up being delayed by four hours because of a sandstorm, meaning Barcelona had to cancel that evening’s training session and a pre-match press conference in Las Vegas — club president Joan Laporta also spoke privately to Dembele.
Dembele in Vegas with Barça.@TheAthleticFC pic.twitter.com/bDXmcCViQN
— Pol Ballús (@polballus) August 1, 2023
Not long after landing — late on Monday night, local time — it seemed to be fully acknowledged, at all levels of the club, that PSG had already done enough to compel them to accept the €50million offer.
Shortly after the team arrived at their Las Vegas hotel, two senior executives were on their way to have dinner when they stopped to speak to media members, preferring to do so anonymously as they did not have permission to comment.
Their tone was far from jubilant. They admitted Barca were contractually obliged to sell their star winger for that fee. The information was further confirmed on Tuesday by other senior club sources.
On a legal level, though, Barcelona are still waiting for Dembele to formally confirm that he is accepting PSG’s offer. There is a deadline of Friday for him to do this. “Obviously, we expect him to accept it. Otherwise, none of this would make any sense,” a senior club source added.
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The terms of what was agreed with Dembele technically give Barcelona a timeframe of about three weeks to complete the transfer and move the player to PSG. And surprisingly, despite taking his departure for granted, they plan to hold further negotiations with the player’s entourage.
What would they have to discuss, if the transfer fee is already set? The answer: how they divide the money.
Sources involved in the negotiations have revealed that if Dembele was to move to PSG under the terms set out by this “contract of obligation”, he would be subject to a higher rate of tax than is usual for transfer deals.
And on top of that, there’s another issue.
Barcelona do not believe all the conditions to trigger the “contract of obligation” have been met. While Barca do not expect any outcome other than Dembele leaving for PSG, they feel he may not be eligible to claim the entirety of his €25million share. Senior sources at the club did not want to disclose further details on this yet and said club lawyers were studying the case. Dembele’s representatives have been approached for comment.
PSG are not in a position where they need to modify their offer but, remarkably, Barcelona executives suggested they plan to speak with the French club, too: to find out if they want to help smooth things over by negotiating on the fee. When asked why PSG would want to do that, a senior Barca source replied: “They will know what’s more convenient to them, or what they have to do.”
Dembele did not play against AC Milan on Tuesday (Photo: Marco Steinbrenner/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
Until the final money distribution is agreed and set, it’s going to be difficult to know how Dembele’s departure might improve Barca’s budget for new signings this summer.
Even if the club somehow managed to slightly increase how much they make from this deal, there is no hiding from the reality that it hurts them quite badly — Xavi especially, given how integral Dembele was to his plans for the new season.
It has to be seen as bad business. Even if his time at the club was beset by injury and irregular form, Dembele’s skill set should bring a much bigger fee than the €25million they stand to receive, and Barcelona will be losing a player who was truly capable of making a difference in games.
It is true to say Barca will get some money for a player they might have lost for nothing a year ago, and that there is still time in this transfer window to replace him — though even the most optimistic of observers would have to admit doing so will be very difficult given the club’s financial situation because they are in breach of La Liga’s salary limit rules, Barca can only re-invest 35 per cent of any incoming transfer fee and 60 per cent of what he was earning towards recruitment or player wages.
It’s also worth remembering that when Neymar was sold to PSG in similar circumstances six years ago — that was also via a release clause — Barca earned €222million from the transfer. With that much money, they could essentially pick and choose who they wanted to replace him, and €135m of it was spent on Dembele three weeks later.
During six seasons with Barcelona, the Frenchman has made fewer appearances than Neymar did in his four (185 to 186). He has scored 40 goals and provided 43 assists; Neymar registered 105 and 76.
Barcelona are not happy with this ending, but the reality is that Dembele is already a part of their past.
“He has spoken with (PSG coach) Luis Enrique, (club president Nasser) Al-Khelaifi and everyone in Paris,” Xavi said on Tuesday night after Barca beat AC Milan 1-0 in Las Vegas to complete their U.S. tour, with Dembele an unused substitute.
“I asked him the reason why he is leaving and he was not really capable of giving me an answer. It’s a personal choice from him.
“How do I feel? It’s not the most important thing. I’m possibly a bit disappointed, yes, because I think we have taken care of him really well since we arrived (Xavi has been the club’s head coach since November 2021). But he wants to leave and we can’t compete with what he has on the table. He has an offer that we just can’t match. It’s that simple.
“I knew all the details on his release clause. I’m in daily contact with Mateu Alemany, we were aware this was an option. But I saw Ousmane so happy with the team that I did not believe this could happen.
“That’s the transfer market. Players who don’t want to stay here have to leave, and we’ll move on.”
(Top photo: Javier Vicencio/Eyepix Group/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
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