Barcelona news: Gerard Pique urges Catalan's to renew contract of Ousmane Dembele

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique wants the Catalan club to renew Ousmane Dembele’s contract which is about to expire at the end of the season. The Catalan club is struggling with financial constraints therefore wants the Frenchman to take a pay cut in order to stay at Camp Nou. Head coach Xavi and many players including the likes of Jordi Alba and Pique want the 24-year-old winger to continue in Catalonia. 

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Dembele has been offered new terms, but the Frenchman has resisted, feeling he deserves more than what the Blaugrana are offering. As reported by El Chiringuito TV’s Jose Alvarez Haya, Barca won’t offer anything more than EUR 8 million in Salary for the winger.  Despite falling way behind Dembele’s asking figure, the team wants him to sign a four-year contract while the player is only looking for a two-year deal. 

“I would like him to renew with the club,” Pique said on Jordi Wild’s YouTube channel.

“He is being an important player for Xavi and we are in love with him.”

Dembele has been in stunning form under Xavi. He has registered seven assists and scored one goal in the last eight appearances for Barca across all competitions. The winger played a crucial role in Barca’s 4-0 thrashing of arch rivals Real Madrid in the last match as he provided two assists. 

Barcelona has been going through a rebuilding process under Xavi and they have been in stunning form of late having won all of their last five league games and have qualified for the quarter-finals of Europa League, and are touted to be one of the favourites to lift the title.

Barca’s clever January signings played a key role in the team’s rejuvenation. The likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Adama Traore and Ferran Torres have been doing a phenomenal job for the Catalan club and Xavi is looking to bolster his squad with more buys this summer. Barca is already in talks with Leeds United winger Raphinha, who is seen as a replacement for Dembele. 

If Barca cannot convince Dembele to put pen to paper with their offer, one can rightly expect him to leave on a free transfer by the end of the season. Meanwhile the Frenchman needs to understand that a lot of Barca’s summer business hinges on what he decides, and the sooner he does, the better it would be for the club.