Dani Alves believes Barcelona need to take advantage of the fact they still have Ousmane Dembélé.
Dembélé remains in contract limbo, set to leave Barca at the end of the season and on a free transfer with his contract set to expire.
Barca have made offers to extend his contract, but the winger has turned down advances so far.
He also refused to leave the club in January, and it looks as though he is headed for a free departure, despite the fact Barca paid more than €100million for his services in 2017.
On the back of the situation, there have been questions over whether Barca should continue to play Dembélé.
But if you ask experienced head Alves, it’s a no-brainer.
“These types of things can happen in football, but while he continues with Barca, he has to defend the shirt,” Alves told Sport.
“If he goes at the end of the season, well look, but there are still five months.
“We have to take advantage that he is here. One has to be more intelligent about the situation.
One has to think with intelligence and take advantage that we have the player.
The whole dressing room needs to be together. One has to create an environment of positivity where there are no bad vibes.
“If everyone brings their own, Barca is going to return. That is the objective of everyone.”
Dembélé hasn’t played for Barca since his last contract refusal, and it will be interesting to see if he features this weekend.
Barca take on Atletico Madrid in a key clash in the race for top four on Sunday,
