Transfer Centre

Barcelona forced to offload Ousmane Dembele?

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 01 July 2019

Barcelona could reportedly be forced into selling Ousmane Dembele if they want to bring in both Antoine Griezmann and Neymar this summer.

Barcelona could reportedly be forced into offloading Ousmane Dembele if they want to bring both Neymar and Antoine Griezmann to the Camp Nou this summer.

The Catalan giants have been heavily linked with mega-money deals for both attackers in recent weeks and are ready to step up their interest in Griezmann now that his release clause at Atletico Madrid has lowered to £107m.

Barca's long-standing interest in Griezmann has been complicated by Neymar's desire to return to his former club, though, with the Brazilian eager to reunite with the likes of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez just two years after leaving for Paris Saint-Germain.

The duo combined would likely set back Barcelona at least £300m, meaning that they would need to raise around £200m in funds to avoid falling foul of FIFA's Financial Fair Play rules.

The Spanish giants are open to offers for Philippe Coutinho, but concerns over his form mean that Dembele is now seen as the player who could raise the most money.

German outlet Kicker claim that Bayern Munich are leading the race for the France international, while Liverpool are also interested and PSG could be open to him being included in any deal for Neymar.

Dembele scored 14 goals in 42 appearances across all competitions for Barcelona last season.