?Borussia Dortmund have taken the significant decision to internally suspend unsettled winger Ousmane Dembele until the weekend after he deliberately skipped training on Thursday, seemingly in an attempt to force through a transfer to Barcelona.
Dortmund coach Peter Bosz confirmed early in the afternoon that Dembele had been absent without permission and that the club had tried and failed to contact him.
That was followed by a statement from Dortmund explaining that a formal offer from Barcelona for the 20-year-old French international had been rejected after a round of talks.
In part, it read, “The representatives of FC Barcelona submitted a bid which did not correspond to the player’s extraordinary footballing and other abilities nor to the present situation of the European transfer market. BVB therefore rejected this offer.”
Speaking to BVB.de later, sporting director Michael Zord explained, “Ousmane Dembele has deliberately missed training today. We will of course sanction him for this misconduct.”
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According to Catalan publication Sport, Barcelona’s opening rejected offer was around €70m plus various add-ons. Dortmund’s statement had declared there was no other offer, but Sport believes that Barça made a second on Thursday, possibly after the statement was released.
They claim that the improved bid totalled €130m, made up of an initial €90m fee and €40m in extra payments dependent on a series of additional variables. But that too is said to have been rejected, with earlier suggestions that Dortmund are chasing €150m for the player.
Sport’s report goes on to claim that personal terms between Dembele and Barcelona have already been agreed, with the player set to earn €50m over five years at Camp Nou if the transfer goes through. But no deal can happen if Barça are unable to convince Dortmund to sell.
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