Barcelona attacker Ousmane Dembele has reportedly rejected the club's final offer of a new contract and is set to depart as a free agent at the end of the month.
The France international's future has been the subject of much debate as he continues to run down the final few weeks of his existing deal with the Catalan giants.
Barca tried and failed to force Dembele out of the door in January as he entered the final six months of his contract, at which point he was free to agree a pre-contract deal with a foreign club.
However, Dembele remained at Camp Nou and ultimately regained the trust of Xavi with several strong performances in La Liga, leading Barcelona to consider the possibility of a new contract for the 25-year-old.
President Joan Laporta recently revealed that he had not heard back from Dembele or his agent over proposed fresh terms, though, telling reporters: "Dembele has an offer to stay, but we have no news that he's accepted it. We haven't had a reply from him."
© Reuters
According to journalist Santi Ovalle - via the Daily Mail - Dembele has turned down Barcelona's latest offer, and the Catalan club will be forced to watch him walk away for free this summer.
The report adds that Xavi's side are not prepared to offer the former Borussia Dortmund man another new deal and will reluctantly wave goodbye to Dembele after a five-year spell.
Barcelona paid a mammoth £126m to sign Dembele from Dortmund in the summer of 2017, and the forward has gone on to register 32 goals and 34 assists in 149 games for the club in all competitions.
Dembele has won two La Liga titles, two Copa del Reys and one Supercopa de Espana during his five years in Catalonia, in addition to winning the DFB-Pokal with Dortmund in 2017.
The former Rennes youngster registered a league-high 13 assists in 21 La Liga games last season, but his time at Barcelona was also plagued by injuries.
© Reuters
Dembele missed a total of 102 games for Barcelona due to injury or illness, and his physical problems restricted him to a mere 15 starts in the 2021-22 Spanish top flight.
Chelsea are thought to be leading the race to sign the World Cup winner, who worked under current Blues boss Thomas Tuchel during their time at the Westfalenstadion.
Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic have all failed to nail down regular spots in the Chelsea XI, and the latter has been linked with a move to Liverpool as a replacement for Sadio Mane.
Dembele was also tipped to head to Anfield should Mane depart, but the Reds are now poised to announce the arrival of Darwin Nunez from Benfica on a six-year deal.
Dembele is also said to have snubbed interest from Paris Saint-Germain to reunite with Tuchel at Chelsea, while Barcelona could ramp up their efforts to sign Leeds United's Raphinha as they prepare to lose the Frenchman for nothing.
Ben Knapton
