Borussia Dortmund claim Ousmane Dembele and Barcelona are each other’s first choice but accuse the Catalans of lacking class and offering “€30m less”.
Dembele has emerged as the favourite to replace Neymar on Barca’s left wing, but they have yet to agree a deal with Dortmund, prompting the young Frenchman to skip training without permission.
“Dembele is Barcelona’s first choice,” CEO Hans-Joachim Watkze told reporters.
“They have neither a plan B nor C because they know how good he is. We met on a Thursday with Barca, and on Friday he didn’t show up for training.
“A coincidence? Two weeks ago, I considered Barca to be a big and respectable club, but I’m not so sure anymore.
“He’s a boy of 20 years old and he isn’t mature, but he wouldn’t do this for another team in the world.
“Barca are very special to him. He already told us that he’d like to go to Barca, but he knew that with Neymar, Suarez and Messi, it’d be difficult.
“We told him we’d allow him [to leave], but not after only a year. We’re not budging on what we’ve asked [Barca] for, not a penny.
“We can’t accept €30m less than what we’ve asked for. Right now, his transfer is 50-50.”
