2023-07-31 09:49:00
On August 3, 2017, the Ile-de-France residents paid Neymar’s release clause. Cost of the operation: 222 million euros. Six years later, the Brazilian is still the most expensive transfer in history. While Barça and PSG are once again shooting each other in the leg. Except that the player, like the price, is different.
This time, the Parisian leaders have set their sights on Ousmane Démbélé. 50 million will be needed to complete the operation. A pittance for the one who was to replace … Neymar in Catalonia and had been recruited for nearly 135 million euros in 2017.
If the rivalry between the two clubs had calmed down a bit in recent years, the Dembélé affair could reshuffle the cards. As Mundo Deportivo explains in its columns today. “Barça will go to war with PSG if they pay Dembélé’s clause”, headlines the daily. Problem: Barça does not have many means of pressure to fight with the Qataris.
For our colleagues, Barça has only one possibility: financial Fair Play. “Barcelona will ask UEFA to investigate compliance with financial fair play and the origin of PSG’s financial resources,” they explain. Threat or real means of pressure? Difficult to answer the question at the moment. One thing is certain: Barca are trying everything to keep the winger in Spain. “Laporta and Mateu met Dembele on Saturday to make him aware of his importance in the team. This Sunday it was Xavi himself who once again insisted that he is a fundamental player for him. Not sure if that’s enough though.
Scorer in the Clasico
The timing of this transfer is surprising. This weekend, the player netted the opening goal in his club’s easy 3-0 win over Real Madrid. At the end of this meeting, Xavi had also explained himself: “He told us that he was happy”, he had started. “We cannot control the market. There are clauses and it is the decision of the player. I see him happy and it’s up to him to decide. I see him very well suited. He told us he was happy. He is very different.”
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The relationship with his trainer is not at all the cause of his probable departure. According to L’Equipe, the player would have only very moderately appreciated having been mentioned in a possible exchange to bring in Kylian Mbappé. “It’s an important point in the attacker’s decision-making,” explains the French daily. “In his entourage, we wanted to remain cautious on Sunday evening, assuring that his choice was not 100% made, but that this episode could change everything about his first desire to stay in Catalonia and sign a new contract there. .”
As a reminder, the contract of the international tricolor ends in June 2024 in Catalonia. Until July 31, 2023 at midnight, there is a clause of 50 million euros for the departure of the Frenchman. After this deadline, the clause doubles and increases to 100 million euros. Time is running out for Paris.
For the Catalan press, the only one who can prevent his transfer is Ousmane Dembélé himself. “PSG have doubled their initial contract offer. During the negotiations between the Catalans and the player, the agent made a counter-offer of 6-7 million more to extend his contract. What the club cannot offer given the financial situation of the Blaugranas.
Renowned for having a difficult entourage, at least in the negotiation, Dembélé will be able to thank his agents all the same. The latter have negotiated a real jackpot: in the event of a transfer (of 50 or 100 million), the player will take half of this sum in his pocket! What inevitably, to think about its future.
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