Barcelona have a plan to punish Dembele, approved by Xavi | OneFootball

It looks like we are finally in the final stages of Ousmane Dembele’s renewal saga, and at this point, it is make or break for all parties involved. Barcelona have been clear about their stance – either Dembele renews on a lower salary, or he’ll be sold/pushed to the stands for the next six months.

As it stands, Xavi has made it clear that it is impractical to send the Frenchman to the stands, for he is too important to the team.

But he’s ready to punish him in other ways, with reports from Catalunya Radio claiming that he will be dropped from the squad list for the game against Athletic Club.

Early yesterday, there were reports claiming that Xavi deliberately delayed the release of the squad list in an attempt to find a solution to the Dembele problem.

The problem is, however, that the World Cup winner is an invaluable part to the manager’s system. He was expected to start tonight with Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres taking up the other two spots.

Memphis Depay has picked up a knock as well, while Luuk de Jong remains suspended for the Copa del Rey. Barça do have Ez Abde and Ferran Jutgla available, both of whom have done well in that left-wing position.

The official squad list is scheduled to be released today afternoon, which is when we can get an indicative clue about the recent developments in the Dembele camp.