Barcelona get €10m Dembele BONUS to bring Cancelo transfer closer

16 Aug 2023 12:45 BST
3 min read

Ousmane Dembele, Barcelona, 2023/24 — © ProShots

Barcelona have declined to pay the agent of Ousmane Dembele a €10 million ‘fair play’ bonus for the winger’s much-disputed transfer to PSG, with that money potentially going towards a transfer for Joao Cancelo of Manchester City.

Dembele has departed the Camp Nou side to join up with Kylian Mbappe at Parc des Princes after the Ligue 1 champions triggered his €50m release clause.

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It was thought that only €25m of that figure would head into the coffers of Barcelona, with €15m heading to the player, but reports in Spain suggest that they will, in fact, recoup €10m more.

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Mundo Deportivo explains that Dembele’s agent, Moussa Sissoko, stood to benefit to the tune of €10m personally if the player’s release clause was triggered – except in the circumstances that occurred.

PSG did not complete a move by the 31 July deadline specified in Dembele’s deal but instead signed Dembele via a more obscure clause in his contract that allowed them an extra week to get the transfer done.

The Barcelona-based paper explains: “Barcelona have decided not to pay the €10m to the agent and battle for that payment in court. LaLiga has recorded this income in favour of Barca, so in the face of Financial Fair Play Dembele’s goodbye represents an income of €35m, which benefits the club for their goals of player registration.”

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That money, though, could also go towards a deal to secure Cancelo from Manchester City, a player that appears to be Xavi’s priority before the close of the summer transfer window.

Barca face competition from the Saudi Pro League to sign the Spain international, though.

© ProShots - Ousmane Dembele's exit from Barcelona was acrimonious

Barca’s race to register players

Barcelona started the season with a 0-0 draw against Getafe, dominating a game that ended with both teams playing with 10 men.

New signings Oriol Romeu and Ilkay Gundogan both started that encounter for Xavi’s side but Inigo Martinez remains unregistered for the Catalan club. In addition, Marcos Alonso and Inaki Pena were not registered by the club after signing new contracts and were unable to take part at the weekend.

The revelation on the Dembele deal should make it easier for Barcelona to push these registrations through.