Barcelona 'still waiting for Ousmane Dembele contract decision'

The 25-year-old's deal at Camp Nou is due to expire at the end of June, and a number of clubs, including Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain, are said to be competing to sign him on a free transfer.

Barcelona boss Xavi is still believed to be pushing for the World Cup winner to sign a new deal, but the two parties are thought to be some way apart in terms of their demands.

According to Sport, Dembele will return from his holiday this week and could meet Xavi over the next couple of days to discuss his current position.

The report claims that the Frenchman wants to stay at Barcelona but is demanding a better deal than the one that has been left on the table by the Catalan side.

The La Liga outfit are said to be keen to resolve the situation over the next couple of days, and they could release a statement confirming the attacker's departure in the early stages of this week.

Barcelona will allegedly step up their interest in Leeds United's Raphinha and Paris Saint-Germain's Angel Di Maria if it becomes clear that Dembele will be moving on.

Dembele enjoyed a relatively productive 2021-22 campaign for Barcelona, scoring twice and providing 13 assists in 32 appearances in all competitions.

The attacker was initially told to leave Camp Nou in January after refusing to sign a new deal, but he remained at the club and managed to work his way back into the side under Xavi.

There has previously been talk of interest from Manchester United and Juventus, but Chelsea and PSG will reportedly go head to head for his signature if he does leave Barcelona.

"Dembele has an offer to stay, but we have no news that he's accepted it. We haven't had a reply from him," Barcelona boss Joan Laporta told reporters earlier this month.

Meanwhile, speaking in May, the attacker's agent Moussa Dembele insisted that they would remain "very respectful of all of the clubs" involved in the situation.

"Ousmane Dembele's future remains open and we are not going to enter into endless speculation," Football Espana quoted Moussa Dembele as saying.

"We are and have always been very respectful of all the clubs and we will continue in the same way as long as the process continues. When the time is right to make a decision, Ousmane will consider what is the best option for the future."

The attacker has scored 32 goals and registered 34 assists in 149 appearances for the Catalan outfit since joining the club from Borussia Dortmund in August 2017.