The Dembele Situation

Ousmane Dembele is a french footballer who plays for FC Barcelona in Spain. He joined Barcelona from Borrussia Dortmund in the summer of 2017 the same time Neymar left Barcelona for Paris Saint Germain. He was brought in as a direct replacement for the Brazilian and was expected to hit the ground running so much so that the club won't feel the absence of Neymar.

This wasn't to be. The french time at Barcelona has been nothing short of underwhelming. Disappointing performance one after another. Game week in and out. This doesn't mean that he has shown some sparks of brilliance but it's still not enough to cause a fire. To say the least he hasn't performed up to expectation.

He signed a five year deal when he joined the club in 2017 meaning that his contract is going to expire this summer in 2022. His time at the club has been full of injuries and controversies. He has mostly had injuries relating to the thigh because he is a sprinter. Also he has had some disciplinary issues. Not coming early for training, sleeping late because he was playing video games late into the night. Also falling ill because of not taking proper care of his body.

He didn't perform as expected by everyone in the club especially for the huge amount of money that was paid for him. You don't pay that kind of money and not expect something better. Like look at Liverpool defender Virgil Van Dijk, that's what you call a player justifying the amount of money spent on him. But I'm not here to talk or rant about how Dembele has been a total flop at Barcelona, I am here to talk about his contact situation that was a very big piece of news during the January transfer window. It will probably still be on people's lip till the end of the season.

As expected the club offered him a new contract not necessarily because he deserved it but because they couldn't let him leave for nothing in the summer. Of course they couldn't offer him a deal better than his current one financially because

• His performance did not merit it

• The club is in a terrible place financially and cannot afford to exceed it's wage bill

This definitely did not go done well with the player and his representatives. They some how thought that he deserved an increase in his salary. How could they even think about that? How can someone who's spell at the club has been a total failure be expecting a new contract.

Okay let us say maybe he performed over average which he didn't, can't he see that the club is not financially buoyant and cannot afford to over pay players. He should at least consider the situation at the club and be more free when negotiating his contract. But no he would not budge.

Because of this back and forth between the player and the club management, they weren't able to reach a common ground in time. He did not accept any contract proposal brought by the club to him and his agent was proving especially difficult. The club resolved to sell him when the January transfer window should come. At least they cannot lose him on a free after spending over hundred million euros on him.

January came and the club was willing to let him go, even telling other clubs that he is on sale and also including him in negotiations for bringing other players into the club but surprisingly the player said that he was not leaving. That he wanted to stay at the club. The club was really taken aback by his decision.

This led to a fight between the player and the club and it was even brought into the public. The press made sure that they milked the story and because of this it was all over the news. Everyone knew about it and it wasn't a pretty sight at all. The whole situation did not paint the club and player in the right light and it was a very messy situation. The club wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible but he did not want to leave. They even went as far as threatening him. Saying that he will be banished to the stands till the end of the season. The player wasn't going to stand for this. He released a statement saying that he was not going to be blackmailed or put under pressure by anybody.

This definitely did not sit well with the club and the whole fiasco dragged on till the transfer window was slammed shut. He ended up not leaving to the club dismay. If he those not renew his contract he is surely going to leave on a free.

The club later changed its mind and said he was going to play if needed. The coach also said that he was part of his team. He even played in Barcelona most recent match. It seems the club is going to be using him regardless of his contract situation.

My Thoughts

I think Dembele should have had the decency to leave the club generating revenue for the already broke club. If he wasn't going to sign the contract he should at least leave. Also the club shouldn't have threatened him like that. If he is going to be staying at the club at least use him. It would not profit us to have a player like him and still not use him. I don't think he is going to sign a new contract after what just happened. I hope the club learns from this experience. It isn't wise to spend lavishly on young players.