Barcelona from La Liga has given another warning to their French forward Ousmane Dembele that if he does not change his attitude, the club will continue his suspension and even transfer him, according to local media outlet Diario Sport on Monday.
In the past two weeks, Dembele has been put under the spotlight for reported unprofessional behavior. Before Barcelona's last game against Real Betis Balompie on November 11, Dembele is said to have missed training without reason and was suspended for the game.
Barcelona require that players must be Nou Camp Stadium to support the team even if they are not on the team sheet for the game. However, Dembele was late again both for the first and second half.
Barcelona paid almost 165 million US dollars to bring Ousmane Dembele from Borussia Dortmund. /VCG Photo
Barcelona paid almost 165 million US dollars to bring Ousmane Dembele from Borussia Dortmund. /VCG Photo
Since then the press started to dig up unflattering stories about the French forward. AS reported that Dembele did not miss the training for health reasons, which was the official reason given by Barcelona, but because he spent the whole night before playing video games. AS also pointed out that Dembele has been obsessed with video games for a long time.
According to Diario Sport, Barcelona gave Dembele an ultimatum that either he changes the way he behaves or the team will extend his suspension and send him somewhere else. The club paid Borussia Dortmund almost 165 million US dollars for the 21-year-old, expecting him to join Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez to make a new top attacking combination. However, Dembele so far has been more of a disappointment, if not a failure.
Barcelona chose Dembele over Kylian Mbappe who makes his name known to the world at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. /VCG Photo
Barcelona chose Dembele over Kylian Mbappe who makes his name known to the world at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. /VCG Photo
What may make the Spanish club regret more was that Josep Maria Minguella, agent of PSG's super young star Kylian Mbappe, told La Porteria that he actually offered Mbappe to Barcelona in August 2017 but got ignored. Instead, Barcelona chose to sign Dembele.
After Mbappe's incredible performance both at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and with PSG as well as what happened with Dembele recently, it's hard to say how Barcelona feel now about their decision.