OUSMANE DEMBELE has FINALLY signed a new two-year deal with Barcelona in a transfer blow to Chelsea.
The Blues were heavily linked with signing the French forward after he let his contract expire at the Nou Camp this summer.
But Barca have now confirmed Dembele has put pen to paper on a new contract to keep him with the Spanish giants until 2024.
There will be a public signing of his new deal at the team’s training ground this afternoon.
Dembele joined Barcelona from Borussia Dortmund for a whopping £135.5million back in 2017 but a string injuries meant he never lived up to that price-tag.
He had been in a stand-off with the club over a renewed deal and was subsequently linked with a move to Stamford Bridge.
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Raphinha SIGNS for Barcelona, PSG REJECT chance to sign Cristiano Ronaldo
Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich were also reportedly interested in the World Cup winner.
But manager Xavi was desperate to keep him beyond the summer.
That is despite closing in on securing Leeds forward Raphinha for £58million.
Speaking about Dembele’s future back in May, Xavi said: “Negotiations are ongoing and we are going to be optimistic.
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“I hope he can stay – he has helped us a lot during the last six months.
“He’s a decisive player with lots of assists and he has been excellent in many games.
“When he hasn’t played, we’ve missed him.
“He is a football player that I like and we’d like to stay, but we’ll have to see.”
Dembele has endured a number of injuries throughout his five-year stint in Spain.
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But the ex-Dortmund star has still managed to amass a total of 32 goals and 34 assists in 150 appearances across all competitions.
Barcelona will now be hoping Dembele staying can help them to kick on next season.
Xavi’s men finished second in LaLiga in the 2021/22 campaign, 13 points behind bitter rivals Real Madrid who also won the Champions League.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
