Joan Laporta slams Ousmane Dembélé’s decision to stay at Barcelona

'It makes no sense'

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has slammed Ousmane Dembélé's decision to remain at the club until the end of the season. The Frenchman had been linked with a move away from the Nou Camp after the two parties failed to agree on a contract extension. Resigned to losing him, Barça were hoping to try and offload the winger in January to avoid losing him for free, but despite being linked with Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea, a deal was unable to be completed. As a result, the 24-year-old will leave for nothing at the end of the season which may put more clubs on red alert to sign the former Borussia Dortmund man. Laporta has since come out and criticised Dembélé and admits "it makes no sense" to him as to why he would remain at the Catalan giants. "We presented him with two proposals and they were good," he said, as per Goal.com. "We are very surprised that he did not accept. The last one was from an English club and he did not want to go, he preferred to stay here for six months. "It is not good neither for him nor for the club, because his renewal gave us salary margin and we would not have been having to work until the last minute. "The whole Dembélé thing is difficult to understand. Xavi is working and has to think about next season. We think he has an agreement with another club. That's what his agent has insinuated to us. We will act for the good of the club." Meanwhile, Barcelona are set to confirm the signing of forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on a free transfer from Arsenal. Related links:

• Aubameyang to Barcelona looks like it might actually be happening now
• Barcelona file complaint against former president Josep Maria Bartomeu
• Ousmane Dembele breaks silence on Barcelona transfer speculation