The Case of Haaland, Dembele, and Barcelona
It was reported in the Spanish press that Dembele told his colleagues: “I want to continue at Barca. I am very happy here and I believe in this project. In addition, I am very happy with Xavi [Hernandez].”
And then a few days later, Barcelona contacted his agent Moussa Sissoko and restarted the earlier stalled renewal talks.
It was reported by ESPN alongside many other Spanish outlets that Haaland met with Barca manager Xavi in Munich. Some say they’ve met twice, or had a conversation regarding the project.
Barcelona’s upturn in form under first team coach Xavi has reportedly turned many heads towards Camp Nou.
“Perhaps we are seeing the best Dembele since [he joined] Barca, for sure. He is a player that the coaches have known how to manage better, starting with Xavi who is managing [things] wonderfully for the player,” said Barca president Joan Laporta.
Barca have to generate financial fair play. For that they’ve signed a mega deal with Spotify and other deals with the CVC capital fund and the sale of Barca Studio’s are underway. Once these deals go through, Barca will be able to register their other signings, renew Gavi and Araujo, and will also become eligible to complete the two signings.
What’s happening now is that both Haaland and Dembele are looking at Barcelona favorably. Barca do not offer the best wages when looked at from a continental perspective, but what they offer isn’t too far from what Real Madrid are putting on the table(according to what’s been coming out in the media).
The holding back argument for both players at the moment isn’t the amount being offered. It seems to be the length of the contract, where Barca offering Haaland a 5 year contract, and Dembele a 4 year deal. With the offers below expectations, both players want to have a shorter contract, of about 2 years and then come back to the table when Barca’s economy is projected to be back on track.
The parties have sat down and this is the final round! Agreements are being hashed out.
