Barcelona president Joan Laporta appears to have gotten it all wrong about Ousmane Dembélé.
Dembélé has been heavily criticised for his reluctance to sign a new Barcelona contract.
The Frenchman has rejected a number of offers, feeling the Blaugrana are not willing to pay him what he is worth.
In his first four-and-a-half years at the club, the winger rarely impressed on a consistent basis, struggling for form and fitness.
But since the contract situation came to a head, he has been superb, playing a key role in Barca’s resurgence under Xavi Hernandez.
In the latest reports from Sport, it is now being claimed that Dembélé’s representatives are willing to restart negotiations, now that the criticism has died down, and indeed now that tempers have cooled.
It is made clear that Dembélé has not agreed anything with another club at this point, and it seems Barca president Laporta was wrong in claiming he had.
Laporta said during the last breakdown in negotiations: “We think Ousmane Dembele has an agreement in place with another club.
“He didn’t want to leave the club in January. It’s really difficult to understand his position, makes no sense for him and for the club.”
It now seems that is not the case, and that is true, Laporta should issue an apology to Dembélé given his words effectively leveraged Barca supporters against the winger.
