When we talk about Ousmane, we do it in the conditional. He is a hypothetical player, not real. The infinite “coulds”: what he could do thanks to the way he uses both legs, what he could be as a footballer thanks to his first step, what he could add if he did not get injured…
So, even if it is extremely complex, we must descend to the real world and talk about the Ousmane Dembélé that the world has seen in recent seasons at Barcelona.
In any other case, Barça could afford to keep in the squad a player who his coach is passionate about, but in their current situation, it would be a positive departure financially for the club (although not from a sporting point of view).
In another context, the board would be happy to sell a player who has participated in 185 games in 6 seasons. A number that does not seem excessively short before putting the data into context. Dembélé has missed 42.73% of the games played by Barça during his time at the Catalonian club. He has been unavailable to his coaches in four games out of every 10.
It is true that his price will be less than his market value (currently 60 million) and that it is hard to believe that Barça will be able to bring in a replacement of the same caliber. But the Culés need to sell and free up their financial fair-play to be able to register players.
We all take it for granted that Gündoğan, Romeu or Íñigo Martínez will be part of the squad, but as of the 1st of August, FC Barcelona only has 13 registered players in LaLiga.
It is also worth noting that Barça will receive a higher fee than last year, when he could have left for free and the club convinced him to stay with a favorable clause (split earnings between the club and the player in the case of a future sale). Financially, it is a better deal than most people think.
In sporting terms, it will be a painful loss for Xavi, as the Frenchman is one of the team’s pillars whenever he is available. His presence would be critical to Barça’s current four-midfielder system that desperately needs an attacker who can soar into space to relieve some pressure from the team.
In spite of that, the potential departure of the winger will be a touchstone for the coach, who will have to find tactical solutions to his players’ technical struggles.
For all this, time will tell if his departure was positive or negative for Barça. Because, above all, Ousmane Dembélé is guilty until proven otherwise.
Main image: @FCBarcelona_es.
Translated by Nuño Alonso.
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