The Barcelona faithful have emerged in force on Sunday evening, to send a collective message to the club over the absence of Ousmane Dembele.
The name of Blaurgana wide-man Dembele has of course found itself front and centre in the headlines once more over the course of the week to date.
This comes after Blaugrana chief Mateu Alemany dropped a bombshell, all-but confirming that the former Borussia Dortmund man has played his final game for the club, after refusing to renew his contract, set to expire this summer:
Barça-Dembélé, it’s over ?
Barcelona director Alemany announces: “It’s clear that Dembélé does NOT want to continue with Barcelona. He doesn’t want to be part of our project”.
“We told Dembélé he has to leave immediately. We expect Ousmane to be sold before Jan 31”. #Dembele pic.twitter.com/0eC61mozCs
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 20, 2022
Dembele, in turn, quickly hit back, courtesy of an emotional statement on his official Instagram account:
“My message is transparent. I forbid anyone to give the impression that I am not involved in the sports project.
“I forbid anyone to attribute intentions to me that I have never had. I forbid anyone to speak for me or my representative, whom I fully trust.
“Still under contract, I am fully involved and at the disposal of my club, my coach.”
After the Frenchman failed to show up to training this morning owing to what was described as an ‘upset stomach’, ensuing speculation in the Spanish media then hinted at further unrest, amid the suggestion that Dembele is set to be sanctioned upon his return.
‘We need Dembele’
Despite the ongoing saga surrounding their gifted but injury-prone wide-man, though, evidently, many of a Barcelona persuasion remain in favour of ‘Dembouz’ being handed another chance.
This comes on the back of the club’s La Liga meeting with Deportivo Alaves on Sunday night.
Though Xavi’s troops ultimately emerged on the right side of a 1-0 scoreline owing to a solitary strike from Frenkie de Jong, the Blaugrana, once more, flattered to deceive.
In turn, claims have mounted across social media post-match that Barca remain in ‘need’ of Dembele’s game-changing abilities, with just some of the highlights showcased below:
We need Dembele!
— ayandabrian (@AyandaNgcobo) January 23, 2022
This team is dead, give dembele that contract
— Rain (@Rain11933632) January 23, 2022
We actually need Dembélé’s speed and his creativity back, I hate to say it but it is what it is
— Zolo (@t_homie3) January 23, 2022
we need dembele???????????
— ℓѩԆỸş ➕ (@EmrysLennox) January 23, 2022
3pts but I think we need to bring Dembele back
— Olamilekan (@Lexybabs) January 23, 2022
We can’t play without Dembele man
— barsenalona (@methodfcb) January 23, 2022
This doesn’t change the fact that we won’t make top 4 without dembele
— ⁷ (@JSRX7i) January 23, 2022
Pride aside, we need Dembele
— Najib Sakumonu.bit (@QaabaY) January 23, 2022
So obvious that we need Dembele…
— T. ?? (@DutchBaIler) January 23, 2022
My player ratings
Xavi=7
Ter Stegn=7/10
Pique=8/10
Arajo=7/10
Alba=5/10
Dest=sell
Busquets=7/10
Frankie De Jong= 7/10
Pedri=8/10
Abde=4/10
Luke De Jong=4/10
Torres=4/10 just came back
Subs
Nico=NA
Lenglet=NAI will address the elephant in the room, WE NEED DEMBELE. Full stop.
— Nigel (@TriniPapaBarca) January 23, 2022
We need Dembele https://t.co/JqV4KNGmdr
— dU (@M3dull4) January 23, 2022
Jordi Alba replacement? Barcelona target ‘pushing’ for Camp Nou switch
Barcelona could sanction Ousmane Dembele after no-show