Ousmane Dembele has told Catalan giants Barcelona that he wants to leave to join Paris St Germain, according to manager Xavi.
The Ligue 1 side have made the 26-year-old an offer that Barca “cannot match” and he has informed his manager that he wishes to move.
The France international has a £43million release clause in his contract which PSG have reportedly triggered, shortly before the terms of his deal stipulated the figure would rise to £86m.
Talks have taken place between the parties and Dembele has made up his mind that his future lies away from Barca, whom he joined from Borussia Dortmund for £125m in 2017.
Crystal Palace take full advantage of their fortune to end Brighton’s unbeaten home run
Ruben Amorim leaves Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho out of United squad for Manchester derby
Wolves hope to make swift appointment after sacking Gary O’Neil as head coach
The top 25 women’s sporting moments of the year: top spot revealed with Katie Taylor, Rhasidat Adeleke and Kellie Harrington featuring
“Dembele came and told me he wanted to leave,” said Xavi. “He has an offer from PSG that we cannot match.”
He has played 185 times for the club and has won three LaLiga titles during his six-year stay.
Meanwhile Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp has laughed off suggestions the club are in the running to put together a loan deal for Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappé.
Klopp has urged Fifa to look into Saudi Arabia’s transfer window closing almost three weeks after Europe’s. The Liverpool manager fears major European leagues will lose more players without being able to replace them. The Premier League’s transfer window closes on September 1st, the deadline for most of Europe’s top leagues, but Saudi Pro League clubs can sign players until 20 September.
Liverpool have sold two players to Saudi clubs, Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, and Roberto Firmino moved there after his contract at Anfield expired. “The influence of Saudi Arabia is massive at the moment,” Klopp said in Singapore, where Liverpool play Bayern Munich in a friendly on Wednesday.
“Pretty much the worst thing is that the transfer window in Saudi Arabia is open three weeks longer. If I am right, I heard something like that, then at least in Europe that’s not helpful.
“Uefa or Fifa must find solutions for that. It’s already influential for us but we will have to learn to deal with it.”
Saudi Arabia has flexed its financial might by luring players from Europe with lucrative contracts, including France’s Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema and his World Cup winning compatriot N’Golo Kanté. The European exodus began last year when Al-Nassr secured the marquee signing of Cristiano Ronaldo.
