FC Barcelona coach Xavi, without hiding his bitterness, confirmed the imminent departure of his French striker Ousmane Dembélé to Paris SG on Tuesday evening at the end of the friendly match against AC Milan played in Las Vegas (United States). “I’ll be clear… He told us he wanted to leave – he was very direct – that he had an offer from Paris Saint-Germain, that they called him and we can’t do anything about it. . It’s his personal decision,” said the Catalan coach at a press conference.
“At my level, it hurts because I feel we took great care of him here, so that he is happy and continues to make a difference for us,” added Xavi. He confirmed that he left the 26-year-old French international on the bench during Barça’s 1-0 victory against AC Milan because of this situation.
This meeting was the last of the North American tour of the Catalan club, which will put its title of champion of Spain in play on August 13 in Getafe, during the 1st day of La Liga. A new season in which Dembélé, who joined FC Barcelona in 2017, should therefore not take part.
