According to Mundo Deportivo, Ousmane Dembele’s current club FC Barcelona has been granted 24 hours by Paris Saint-Germain to finalize their expected purchase of him.
Dembele was reportedly close to finalizing a €50 million ($55 million) transfer to Paris last weekend but was delayed by a lack of paperwork for PSG’s legal department, according to SPORT.
On Sunday, the Frenchman was requested to report back to training from Paris. But sports director Mateu Alemany appeared to confirm that the trade would be completed soon on Tuesday after the Joan Gamper Trophy match against Tottenham Hotspur.
“We are working to resolve the transfer. Dembele is no longer a part of the first team dynamic, else he would be at the Gamper, Alemany said from the Montjuic Stadium full time.
In Paris is Dembele. We will provide the operation’s financial information after the agreement is completed, and with that, we close another folder, Alemany continued.
RMC Sport claimed on Thursday that Dembele had finally passed his medical and would be formally acquired by the Ligue 1 champions shortly after.
They anticipated that Dembele would already be on their roster for Saturday’s season-opening match against Lorient at the Parc des Princes, but they’ve discovered that Barcelona isn’t finalizing the deal and is instead delaying matters by taking their time going over the fine print.
Due to this, the Qatari-owned company has given Barca a deadline: if the deal is not finalized within 24 hours, PSG will withdraw and wait until Dembele becomes a free agency on June 30 of the next year.
If this were to happen, Barca would be out at least €25 million ($27.5 million), as the €50 million was supposed to be split between Dembele and his agent Moussa Sissoko.
A disagreement over the distribution of the proceeds also stands in the way of concluding the sale. However, Barca are in desperate need of money because they are currently having trouble signing up players and adhering to Financial Fair Play regulations.
Alemany and President Joan Laporta will want to get rid of Dembele as soon as possible so they can concentrate on the journey ahead in 2023–2024. Only 12 players, including Dembele, are enrolled for their club’s own season opener away at Getafe on Sunday.