Barcelona Reportedly Offer Two Superstar Player For Mbappe Swap Deal
Ousmane Dembele decided to leave FC Barcelona when his camp learned that the Catalans had offered him to Paris Saint-Germain alongside Gavi as part of a potential swap deal for Kylian Mbappe, according to L’Equipe.
As part of the same Sunday evening report, the French outlet explained the winger’s move to the Ligue 1 champions is “imminent” and that agreeing personal terms with the winger is the only thing preventing the deal from being completed.
If Dembele can return from Barca’s preseason tour of the United States immediately, he should be able to deliver his €50 million ($55 million) release clause to La Liga headquarters immediately before midnight on Monday.
In the event he fails to meet the deadline, however, the required fee to release Dembele from his Barca contract will double to €100 million ($110 million) on August 1, which is still affordable to Qatari-owned PSG and hardly a setback.
It is difficult to prove whether Barca made such an offer to PSG, which would have involved Dembele and Gavi switching clubs with Mbappe.
On the same day news spread of Al-Hilal launching a world record €300 million ($330.5 million) bid for Mbappe, L’Equipe reported that Barca and PSG were set to hold a telephone meeting to discuss a potential transfer for the forward who has been put up for sale for not extending his contract.
According to Mas Que Pelotas, however, Barca are furious with Dembele’s camp, who they believe have had an agreement in place with PSG for days.
Spreading such rumors through the French media, of Barca offering Dembele as a bargaining chip, has been viewed as a way of the 26-year-old attempting to clear up his image so as not to leave the Blaugrana a villain in the eyes of their fans.
SPORT reported that Dembele’s camp is not interested in leaving via the release clause and instead wants the two outfits to negotiate his move.
Yet Mas Que Pelotas says that the real motive for this is because of tax reasons, with Dembele and his agent Moussa Sissoko set to pocket half the money but likely to lose a good chunk of their cut to the fiscal authorities.
As reported earlier by multiple sources including The Athletic, COPE and RAC1, there is an increased feeling that Dembele will soon join PSG however the deal is done.
On Sunday, PSG have reportedly increased their offer for Dembele and are willing to pay him more than what cash-strapped Barca can.
