Barcelona boss Xavi has confirmed that Ousmane Dembele will leave the club after Paris Saint-Germain triggered his £43million release clause.
The French champions had until the end of Monday to trigger the clause before it doubled in price, which they did, and they now have until Sunday to complete the deal.
Xavi had hoped Dembele would remain at Camp Nou despite ’s overtures and says he is ‘a little disappointed’ that the Frenchman has opted to leave the club.
Speaking to TV3 after a 1-0 friendly win over in Las Vegas, Xavi said: ‘I will be very clear. Dembele has asked us to leave. He has a proposal from PSG and that’s why he didn’t play.
‘It’s a pity. I’m a little disappointed with Dembele. It leaves a bad taste to me because we had taken great care of him here so that he is happy and content and continues to make a difference for us.
‘But we cannot match an offer from PSG that is completely out of the market.’
He added: ‘I tried to convince Dembele to stay but he told me that he has already spoken to Luis Enrique and [Nasser] Al-Khelaifi and there was no way to convince him.
‘It’s final and it’s his personal decision. If a footballer doesn’t want to be at Barca, they have to be let go.’
Team-mate Sergio Roberto was also asked about Dembele’s decision and said: ‘It’s a shame he’s leaving. He’s been here for many years and the squad loves him.
‘We all told him that, but he has decided to take another decision. We’re very sad about that, but we have to look forward.’
Barcelona could now bring forward Vitor Roque’s registration to bolster their attacking options, with the Brazilian starlet originally due to move to Camp Nou next summer.
Rather than sign a new winger, Xavi wants to reinvest the Dembele funds on a right-back – with centre-back Jules Kounde having been given the role for this coming season – and they could now reignite a move for Manchester City’s Joao Cancelo.
‘With the departure of Dembele, we need a pure right-back now,’ said Xavi, who will likely need to stump up a fee in excess of £35m to land Cancelo despite City being keen to cash in on a player who spent the second half of last season on loan at Bayern Munich.
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