Coach Barcelona Xavi Hernandez Extend Contract Star Forward Active This Summer

Barcelona have already made their first move in their bid to extend the contract of star forward Ousmane Dembele.

Coach Barcelona Xavi Hernandez Extend Contract Star Forward Active This Summer

As per the report, the newly-crowned La Liga champions have offered the Frenchman an extension until 2027. The negotiations have entered the logical waiting period now as the winger and his agent, Moussa Sissoko, study and analyse the offer presented.

Dembele’s current contract with Barça expires in 2024 and a release clause worth just €50 million will become active this summer.

So, ideally, Barcelona would want to tie down his new contract before June 30, after which the €50 million release clause will be in effect.

The general predisposition between the two parties is good after initial talks and while there is no hurry on the club’s part, they are expecting an answer from Dembele and his camp in the coming days.

Negotiations will be held to possibly make some tweaks to the deal offered, but the attacker is very much keen on signing a new contract and prolonging his stay at the club.

So, the report adds that there might even be a possibility that he gives his ‘OK’ before joining the France national team camp in June as they take on Gibraltar and Greece in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers.

Dembele’s contract situation last year evolved into a soap opera that did not paint anybody involved in a good light. All parties will thus be keen to avoid a repeat of that and come to agreement over the terms of his new deal at the earliest possible.

Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez refused to be drawn on the lifting of Vinicius Junior’s sanction on Tuesday night, but did seem a touch confused by the ruling.

Ahead of Barcelona’s trip to Real Valladolid, Xavi had told the media that measures had to be taken to combat the consistent racial abuse suffered by Vinicius.

On Tuesday evening, the RFEF Competition Committee revealed that Vinicius would not serve a ban for his red card against Valencia, alleging that the referee was not supplied sufficient images to make his decision. Speaking to MD, after Barcelona were beaten by Real Valladolid, Xavi Hernandez refused to be drawn too much on the incident.

“Don’t know. It is a question for the Competition Committee. I have no opinion. I have already made clear what I think about acts of racism, and in this I cannot get involved.”

“There was an aggression and that is undeniable,” he did admit.

The decision to rescind a sanction for Vinicius’ red card has been met with controversy in Spain, with many failing to understand why a justified red card was not punished. There is an argument that Hugo Duro should be punished too, but instead the RFEF have decided not to punish either, beyond the final stages of the game Vinicius missed.

More importantly, and more damaging for Spain, the narrative has shifted from tackling racism to whether Real Madrid receive different treatment from other teams – one is obviously significantly more important than the other.