If Barcelona president Joan Laporta was eating while reading the news, he nearly chocked. If he was sitting in the office, he probably needed to lay down and take a glass of water – Ousmane Dembele is injured again! The French international has finished his limited participation in EURO 2020 with yet another injury. His right thigh caused him pain in the match against Hungary, and given his injury record, he was worried. Unfortunately, it is a serious injury and he has to go under the knife soon after to repair it. The estimated absence time – four months. Concern among Les Bleus – three weeks of absence for Ousmane Dembele?The player wrote an emotional message to all French supporters on Instagram, stating that he will come back stronger than ever. “Hi all, as you may have read or heard here and there, it is time for me to leave the France team. It’s just a goodbye as they say! I will come back even stronger as I always have. The challenges make me grow. The weeks we spent training and surpassing ourselves have united us like never before. This group is strong and I know it. “We all know each other!” So I join you and become a supporter of Les Bleus! We must follow through on what we have started and, as always, give the best of ourselves. I trust us, I trust them! As for me, I will return very soon and thank you for your essential support!” Dembele told his 9 million followers.Having hurt his knee in the 1-1 draw with Hungary, Ousmane Dembélé is out for the rest of the Euro. We wish Ousmane a speedy recovery! ????????????#FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/978pWE9UCp— French Team ⭐⭐ (@FrenchTeam) June 21, 2021 And while France coach Didier Deschamps can live without Dembele since his France squad is super strong (and Barca forward was not a regular anyway), the panic button has been pushed in Barcelona. Even without this injury, the Catalonians were having trouble with the Frenchman and his contract. Dembele initially singed for 5 years, and the contract runs out in 2022. Barcelona were willing to extend his stay at Camp Nou, but the player and his agent were deliberately stayed away from the negotiation table, raising fears that he wants to stay for another year without extension and then leave the club on free. Teams like Juventus and always interested PSG were talking to Dembele’s agent and this new injury will certainly change things. Laporta on Barca’s finances: ‘This is worse than I expected’The guy Barcelona paid a staggering 17.3 billion Ksh in 2017 is now seriously close to walking as a free agent in June 2022, costing Barcelona additional 6 billion more for the annual wages in the last four years. 23.3 billion for a player who only played only 180 games in all competition and scored 30 goals….But, with yet another injury, red flags will have to be raised in Turin and Paris, as both Juventus and PSG won’t pay Dembele more than 1.5 billion a year, risking further injuries. Maybe Ousmane will come to his senses and renew the contract during his recovery time, but at this point, it’s too early to predict anything. Status Quo is the only possible solution at the moment, and that is the worst option for financially troubled Barcelona.
