Barcelona offer Ousmane Dembele free transfer return

Ousmane Dembele’s Barcelona career may not yet be over despite his contract expiring.

La Blaugrana have been locked in talks with Dembele’s representatives since the start of 2022 trying avoid a free transfer exit.

However, with no agreement reached at the 11th hour, Dembele is now technically unattached, with his five year stay in Catalonia at an end.

Barcelona have confirmed details of players leaving as their contracts ran out this week but Dembele was not included on it.

That lack of clarity hints at all parties still working on a possible deal with reports from Mundo Deportivo confirming talks have now moved to a different phase.

As a free agent, the structure of negotiations has changed, with Barcelona’s take-it-or-leave-it offer the only option for Dembele to return.

The report adds any renewal will include a 40% salary cut for the former Borussia Dortmund winger which would bring him on a wage parity with Spanish star Ansu Fati.