While Erling Haaland, the latest in a sequence of young players to leave Borussia Dortmund at a tidy profit for the German club, was being unveiled by Manchester City , Ousmane Dembele was boarding a plane bound for Barcelona.
The city has been his home for five years, Barca his employers, but since June 30 Dembele has been a notoriously expensive, unemployed young footballer.
He was greeted at El Prat Airport in the Catalan capital on Sunday by staff from Barca, a clear indication that he and the club were closing in on an agreement on a new deal for the 25 year-old, 11 days after his old one ran out.
It is an extraordinary turn in a relationship that has soured countless times since Dembele joined Barca aged 20, from Dortmund, in the summer of 2017 for more than €120 million.
At the beginning of 2022, with six months left of his contract, Dembele was put on the market by a Barca desperate to cut their losses on an investment that ranks as one of their least successful of their history.
When Dembele turned down the January exit routes proposed to him, he was punished with exile from the first team, told he would not be picked. When he was eventually selected in a match day squad again, he was raucously booed at Camp Nou when he came on a substitute.
That was in mid-February. In the next seven Liga matches, Dembele began belatedly to mend some fences, contributing nine assists in that time and a goal.
If the club’s executives gritted their teeth at watching a sustained run of form unlike almost anything Dembele had put together in a Barca jersey over the previous, often agonisingly stop-start four-and-a-half years, the club’s then new manager Xavi doggedly backed the player.
Xavi has always done so, appreciating the mercurial talent, the inventive duelling and dribbling that made Dembele a standout prodigy in his teens, and had tempted Barcelona to pay such an extravagant fee back in the summer.
At that point, they were flush with the mammoth €222m they received when Paris Saint-Germain triggered a buyout clause in Neymar’s contract with the Catalan club.
Barcelona 2021/22 season ratings BARCELONA RATINGS: GOALKEEPER: Marc-Andre ter Stegen 7 - The German, 30, played in 35 of Barça’s 38 league games and, after doing the same for the last couple of terms, is the undisputed number one at the club he’s been at since 2014. A rare mainstay in a much-changed side, but it was still a shock to see him floundering as his compatriots from Eintracht Frankfurt knocked Barça out of the Europa League at Camp Nou. EPA
DEFENDERS: Sergino Dest 5 - The American, 21, started 17 games last season – down on last term. Ten of those starts were in Barça’s first 12 fraught league games. Injuries, the arrival of Xavi and the return of Dani Alves limited his performances in the second half of the season. He’s talented and young enough to improve a lot – especially his crossing and defending. He’ll need to if he’s to make the right-back position his own. Getty Images
Gerard Pique 7 - He’s 35 and remains as important to Barcelona as he ever was, in part because he’s a mainstay in a central defence which has seen a lot of changes around him. He’s the one who drives the team, who pushes most for equalisers, who the fans listen to for an alternative view to the one his employers put out. He’s upped that since Messi left. Reuters
Ronald Araujo 8 - Superb season for the Uruguayan, 23, who has become a cult hero among fans who sing his name every game. He’s a hard, strong central defender who started 25 league games. Excellent in the air, at tackling and a threat when he goes forward, there was delight when he recently signed a contract until 2026. Scored in big games against Sevilla and Atletico Madrid last season too. Getty Images
Oscar Mingueza 5 - Started only nine league games and played out of his preferred central defence position on the right. He’s 23, he doesn’t look like he’s in the idealised XI of many fans and Kostic’s shot going through his legs as Eintracht took Barça apart in Camp Nou was not a pretty sight, but Barça need a squad and he’s a useful part of it. AP Photo
Dani Alves 6 - Brought back at the age of 38, he was a Xavi ally on the pitch and in the dressing room. He’s not the one-man right wing he was, but he performed adequately in his 13 league starts in 2022 and contributed with three assists. That the Brazilian can still play at this level at 39 is to his credit. Getty Images
Jordi Alba 5 - Part of the old guard, he often has more touches per game than any other player on the pitch. The link up with his perfect foil Messi has now gone, but he still made 10 assists for league goals and he’s still first choice left-back. AFP
Eric Garcia 6 - Still finding his feet and at 21, that’s natural. The move from Manchester City hasn’t fully convinced, he can look shaky and composed in the same game and he’s not been short of critics, but Spain boss Luis Enrique said of him this week: “Eric is a marvellous player, the criticism is unjust, as long as I’m coach and he keeps playing like this he’ll stay with the national team.” Getty Images
Clement Lenglet 4 - The French central defender started only seven league games and came on in 14 more. Too many mistakes, too many bookings, but he started Barça’s final games of the season so that maybe an indication of Xavi’s thinking. Better in Europe, though. He’d be sold if a decent offer came in for the player who cost €35 million from Sevilla in 2018. AFP
Samuel Umtiti NA - One start and he’s the player Barça have most wanted to get off their books. At his best, he established himself as a starter alongside Pique in 2016/17. He was a World Cup winner with France but his knee injury – and the way he chose not to have an operation, frustrated fans. Injury-plagued (he missed three months of this season with a fractured toe) and likely to be moved on if Barça can find a taker. EPA
MIDFIELDERS: Frenkie de Jong 7 - Started 30 league matches, plus another 12 in Europe where he performed better. The Dutchman, 25, has yet to fulfil his huge €75 million transfer fee - though he’s played in troubled times. His manager likes him and he’s better with Busquets behind him, yet that’s also the role he covets most – he wants to be the first player to get the ball from the defenders. A super passer not afraid to dribble past an opponent, his through balls can split defences. Linked with a move away. Getty Images
Pedri 6 - After playing non-stop for club and country in 20-21, the Canarian, still only 19, was limited to only 10 league starts in 21-22. Twice he had a hamstring injury, missing the first half of the season and the last eight league games. He shoots, he passes well, he defends, he has the potential to be one of the best players in the world. Xavi hopes he will be a key man again next season. Reuters
Gavi 9 - Seventeen and superb, the breakthrough star of the season started 28 league games and came on in six more. The midfielder gets stuck in and isn’t averse to a yellow card, but given he has also become an important part of Luis Enrique’s Spain side, he was as overused in 21-22 as Pedri was the previous season. Looks like he has the talent to play at the top level and his through balls are shaping up to be as effective as Iniesta’s, but needs more discipline. Getty Images
Sergio Busquets 7 - Played 3,202 league minutes last season, far more than any other Barça player. The defensive midfielder, 33, brings balance, experience and muscle to the side (none could match his 12 yellow cards). He’s still performing, still protecting a defence which needs protecting, still the first name on the team sheet. Getty Images
Nico 6 - Son of former Deportivo La Coruna great Fran, Nico, 20, doesn’t have the same technical level as fellow young Spanish midfielders Pedri and Gavi. Failed to shine when he started seven consecutive league games in the autumn – Barça won only two of them – but the central midfielder is valued at Camp Nou. A big lad who should be better in the air, he’s still improving. Getty Images
Riqui Puig 5 - Adored by Barça’s online fans who can’t understand why the La Masia graduate doesn’t get more opportunities; ignored by the coaches who are paid to manage FC Barcelona. The skilful, diminutive, central midfielder, 22, started only two league games. Needs to be playing more football, even if away from Camp Nou. AP Photo
FORWARDS: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 8 - A big success after signing from Arsenal in February, the 32-year-old has long wanted to play for Barcelona and his family have long lived near the city. That’s a model Barça have to persist with since they don’t have the finances they once did. Scored a stunning hat-trick in a 4-1 away win at Valencia, then scored twice in a 4-0 away win at Real Madrid – by a distance Barça’s best result and performance of the season. Getty Images
Luuk de Jong 9 - Derided as not being Barça class, as being a cut-price option for a desperate club cutting costs, he had more doubters than any of his teammates after arriving from Sevilla at the start of the season. And how he proved them wrong. The Dutchman was always a backup striker and started only six games, coming on in 15 more. Yet he scored six goals in his 643 league minutes. He’s versatile, better than any Barça player in the air, he lays the ball off well and draws in defenders. Super sub. AP Photo
Ousmane Dembele 6 - Linked with a move away and the expensive Frenchman may yet leave. He was strongly criticised by fans and even club insiders after refusing to sign a contract. Started 15 league games and came on in six more. Scored only once, yet made an astonishing 13 assists, more than any other player. He’s one of the few players to get the crowd off their seats, to try and beat an opponent. It doesn’t always come off and that frustrates some fans used to more measured build up, but he’s box office on the pitch. Getty Images
Ansu Fati 5 - Another big teen talent, 19, but one who barely played because of a knee and then hamstring injury. He returned to the delight of the crowd at home to Mallorca in May and featured in Barça’s final five games of the season, playing on the left. Star potential – as he showed with a header against Real Madrid in the Super Cup which signalled the Catalans re-birth under Xavi. Getty Images
Ferran Torres 5 - Signed from Manchester City, his four goals (and four assists) in 1,417 league minutes was disappointing. He’s scored two in one game for City against Arsenal in August before his January move. He got another two in a March home win against Osasuna, but he was profligate elsewhere and needs consistency. Selfless, hard-working, supported by the crowd, versatile – but he needs to sharpen up in front of goal. AFP
Adama Traore 6 - Four league starts from when his loan move from Wolves started in January until the end of the season. Fast, strong, direct, the boy from Barcelona didn’t do enough for his team to make a serious push to sign him. Getty Images
Memphis Depay 7 - Given the small task of replacing Lionel Messi at the start of the season, he played well and scored in eight of Barça’s first 15 league games in a struggling side. But no goals or assists in six Champions League group games was one reason Barça didn’t advance. A hamstring and then Achilles injury disrupted his season before he came back into the starting XI at the close. Reuters
Dembele is not Neymar, but this latest twist in his up-and-down marriage with Barcelona means he may yet emerge as something other than a sad, cautionary tale about wasted millions.
He may avoid yet the place in history of Philippe Coutinho, bought with another, even bigger chunk of the Neymar money, and who has come and gone, unmissed since he was sold to Aston Villa for not much more than a tenth of the €160m they committed to Liverpool for the Brazilian in 2018.
The following year’s splurge, on the €100m-plus Antoine Griezmann , is also consigned to the past, the Frenchman now loaned back to Atletico Madrid , from whom Barca bought him, within two years of a deal that the forward came to regret.
These purchases, and the massive salaries Barcelona racked up in the period before the Covid pandemic blighted their income streams, left the club teetering under massive debts.
They were sanctioned by La Liga’s Financial Fair-Play restraints and obliged to say goodbye, last summer, to Lionel Messi because, Barca said candidly, they could not afford to pay him even half his previous wage.
Xavi Hernandez said Ousmane Dembele 'can be the best player in the world in his position' when he took over as Barcelona manager. Getty
Dembele would earn less under the new deal proposed to him by Barcelona than he did between 2017 and last month, and a significant slice of his potential earnings in a two-year contract would consist of performance-related variables.
It is a wise precaution. He has missed over 100 matches in his time as a Barcelona player because of injuries and has been punished for poor timekeeping more than once.
For all that, Xavi has a clear vision of what Dembele could offer a Barcelona built around wingers who hug the touchline. “He can be the best player in the world in his position,” claimed the coach on replacing the sacked Ronald Koeman last November.
Xavi maintained his faith even as Dembele and his agent fell out with the board in January, and kept his belief in the match-winning possibilities of the attacker even as Didier Deschamps, the France manager, started to prefer other French footballers adept at running, at pace, at opponents.
Dembele won his last cap for France, with whom he was a member of the 2018 World Cup winning squad, more than a year ago, when he was injured during the group phase of the European Championship.
The winger faces a tough task to be on the plane to Qatar in November for Les Bleus’ attempt to hold on to their World Cup. His best route, he seems to have acknowledged, is to win over the sceptical fans of Barcelona, and pay back the trust of Xavi.
75 notable summer transfers Perr Schuurs - Ajax to Torino (£8m). AFP
Paco Alcacer - Villarreal to Sharjah (loan). Getty Images
Matheus Nunes - Sporting to Wolves (£38m). AFP
Tanguy Nianzou - Bayern Munich to Sevilla (£16.9m). AFP
Alan Virginius - Sochaux to Lille (£3.8m). AFP
Thilo Kehrer - PSG to West Ham (£10.1m). Getty Images
Pervis Estupinan - Villarreal to Brighton (£15.1m). Getty Images
Destiny Udogie - Udinese to Tottenham (£15.1m). Loaned back to Udinese. Reuters
Sergio Gomez - Anderlecht to Manchester City (£11m). Photo: Manchester City
Alex Collado - Barcelona to Elche (loan). AFP
Remo Freuler - Atalanta to Nottingham Forest (£9m). AP
Marc Bartra - Real Betis to Tranbzonspor (undisclosed fee). Getty Images
Giovani Lo Celso - Tottenham to Villarreal (loan). Getty Images
Cheikhou Kouyate - Crystal Palace to Nottingham Forest (free). Getty Images
Emmanuel Dennis - Watford to Nottingham Forest (£20m). Getty Images
Nico González - Barcelona to Valencia (loan). AP Photo
Luca Pellegrini - Juventus to Eintracht Frankfurt (loan). AFP
Daniel Wass - Atletico Madrid to Brondby (£1.7m). EPA
Pablo Marí - Arsenal to Monza (loan). AP
Dries Mertens - Napoli to Galatasaray (free). AFP
Jordan Veretout - Roma to Marseille (£9.3m). Reuters
Christian Benteke - Crystal Palace to DC United (undisclosed fee). AFP
Maxwell Cornet - West Ham United to Burnley (£17.5m). PA
Georginio Wijnaldum - PSG to Roma (loan). AFP
Lucas Torreira - Arsenal to Galatasaray (£5m). AFP
Marc Cucurella - Brighton to Chelsea (£55m). Getty Images
Ademola Lookman - RB Leipzig to Atalanta (£12.6m). PA via AP
Renato Sanches - Lille to Paris Saint-Germain (£12.6m). AFP
Riqui Puig - Barcelona to LA Galaxy (free). AP Photo
Alex Telles - Manchester United to Sevilla (loan). AFP
Carney Chukwuemeka - Aston Villa to Chelsea (£20m). Reuters
Kasper Schmeichel - Leicester City to Nice (£1m). AFP
Mattia Viti - Empoli to Nice (£10.9m). AFP
Gabriel Slonina - Chicago Fire to Chelsea (£8.3m). Reuters
Bernd Leno - Arsenal to Fulham (£3m). AFP
Charles De Ketelaere - Club Brugge to AC Milan (£26.8m). AFP
Joe Rodon - Tottenham to Stade Rennais (loan). AFP
Borja Mayoral - Real Madrid to Getafe (£8.4m). EPA
Cesc Fabregas - Monaco to Como (free). EPA
Alexis Beka Beaka - Lokomotiv Moscow to Nice (£11.7m). AFP
Marcus Tavernier -Middlesbrough to Bournemouth (£10m). Getty Images
Aaron Ramsey - Juventus to Nice (free). AFP
Orel Mangala - Stuttgart to Nottingham Forest (£12.7m). AFP
David Raum - Hoffenheim to RB Leipzig (£21.8m). Getty Images
Oscar Mingueza - Barcelona to Celta Vigo (£2.5m). Getty Images
Jules Kounde - Sevilla to Barcelona (£45m). AFP
Dwight McNeil - Burnley to Everton (£20m). Getty Images
Arnaud Kalimuendo - PSG to Rennes (£21m). Getty Images
Filip Kostic - Eintracht Frankfurt to Juventus (£14.4m). EPA
Salvatore Sirigu - Genoa to Napoli (free). Reuters
Mikkel Damsgaard - Sampdoria to Brentford (£12.7m). EPA
Malang Sarr - Chelsea to Monaco (loan). AFP
Issa Diop - West Ham United to Fulham (£15m). Getty Images
Alexis Sanchez - Internazionale to Marseille (free). Getty Images
Timo Werner - Chelsea to RB Leipzig (£18m). AP
Amadou Onana - Llle to Everton (£33.8m). AFP
Emirhan Ilkhan - Besiktas to Torino (£3.8m). PA
Gonçalo Guedes - Valencia to Wolves (£27.5m). AP Photo
Conor Coady - Wolves to Everton (loan). Getty Images
Anthony Modeste - Cologne to Borussia Dortmund (£3.8m). EPA
Angeliño - RB Leipzig to Hoffenheim (loan). Getty Images
Marcos Senesi - Feyenoord to Bournemouth (£12.6m). AFP
Isco - Real Madrid to Sevilla (free). EPA
Raheem Sterling - Manchester City to Chelsea (£50m). Getty Images
Lisandro Martinez - Ajax to Manchester United (£46m). Getty Images
Robert Lewandowski - Bayern Munich to Barcelona (£38.3m). AFP
Hugo Ekitike - Reims to Paris Saint-Germain (loan). AFP
Thomas Henry - Venezia to Verona (£3.8m). Getty Images
Takefusa Kubo - Real Madrid to Real Sociedad (£5.2m). Getty Images
Kalidou Koulibaly - Napoli to Chelsea (£33.8m). EPA
Chancel Mbemba - Porto to Marseille (free). EPA
Breel Embolo - Borussa Monchengladbach to Monaco (£10.6m). EPA
Christian Eriksen - Brentford to Manchester United (free). PA
Raphinha - Leeds United to Barcelona (£49m). Getty Images
Federico Bernardeschi - Juventus to Toronto FC (free). Getty Images
Andrea Cambiaso - Genoa to Juventus (£5.9m). Getty Images
Arturo Vidal - Inter Milan to Flamengo (free). Getty Images
Mohamed Bayo - Clermont to Lille (£11.8m). AFP
Francisco Trincao - Barcelona to Sporting (loan). Getty Images
Samu Castillejo - AC Milan to Valencia (undisclosed fee). PA
Lewis Ferguson - Aberdeen to Bologna (£3m). PA
Keane Lewis-Potter - Hull City to Brentford (£16m). PA
Alessio Romagnoli - AC Milan to Lazio (free). Getty Images
Nathan Collins - Burnley to Wolves (£20.5m). PA
Andriy Yarmolenko - West Ham United to Al Ain (free). AP Photo
David Ospina - Napoli to Al Nassr (free). Getty Images
Kristian Thorstvedt - Genk to Sassuolo (£8.4m). Reuters
Andreas Pereira -Manchester United to Fulham ( £10m). Getty Images
Gabriel Jesus - Manchester City to Arsenal (£45m). Getty Images
Steven Bergwijn - Tottenham Hotspur to Ajax (£26.5m). AP Photo
Andreas Christensen - Chelsea to Barcelona (free). AFP
Sébastien Haller - Ajax to Borussia Dortmund (£30.8m). AFP
Flynn Downes - Swansea City to West Ham United (£12m). PA
Junior Messias - Crotone to AC Milan (£3.8m). Reuters
Luis Sinisterra - Feyenoord to Leeds United (£21.3m). AFP
Brais Méndez - Celta Vigo to Real Sociedad (£12.8m). Getty Images
Moussa Niakhaté - Mainz to Nottingham Forest (£8.7m). Getty Images
Romeo Lavia - Manchester City to Southmpton (£12m). AP Photo
Tyler Adams - RB Leipzig to Leeds United (£20m). AP
Axel Witsel - Borussia Dortmund to Atletico Madrid (free). EPA
Maya Yoshida - Sampdoria to Schalke (free). AP Photo
Tyrell Malacia - Feyenoord to Manchester United (£12.9m). AP Photo
Zeki Celik - Lille to Roma (£6m). AFP
Ritsu Doan - PSV Eindhoven to Freiburg (£6.5m). AFP
Divock Origi - Liverpool to AC Milan (free). AFP
Rolando Mandragora - Torino to Fiorentina (£7m). EPA
Joao Palhinha - Sporting to Fulham (£17m). Getty Images
Franck Kessie - AC Milan to Barcelona (free). Getty Images
Trezeguet - Aston Villa to Trabzonspor (£3.4m). AFP
Kalvin Phillips - Leeds United to Manchester City (£45m). Reuters
Giulian Biancone - Troyes to Nottingham Forest (£5m). AFP
Giuliano Simeone - Atletico Madrid to Real Zaragoza (loan). EPA
Raoul Bellanova - Cagliari to Inter Milan (loan). Getty Images
Richarlison - Everton to Tottenham (£50 million). PA
Fabio Carvalho - Fulham to Liverpool (£5 million). PA
James Tarkowski Burnley to Everton (free). Getty Images
Sime Vrsaljko - Atletico Madrid to Olympiakos (free). AP Photo
Dean Henderson - Manchester United to Nottingham Forest (loan). PA
Luuk de Jong - Sevilla to PSV Eindhoven (£3.4m). AP Photo
Henrikh Mkhitaryan - Roma to Inter Milan (free). Reuters
Cenk Tosun - Everton to Besiktas (free). Reuters
Andre Onana - Ajax to Inter Milan (free). Getty
Moussa Sissoko - Watford to Nantes (£2m). AFP
Corentin Tolisso - Bayern Munich to Lyon (free). AFP
Vitinha - Porto to Paris Saint-Germain (£34m). AFP
Romelu Lukaku - Chelsea to Inter Milan (loan). PA
Lorenzo Insigne - Napoli to Toronto FC (free). AP
Sven Botman - Lille to Newcastle United (£31.9m). AFP
Takumi Minamino - Liverpool to Monaco (£15.5m). Getty Images
Alphonse Areola - Paris Saint-Germain to West Ham United (£7.8m). AFP
Lucas Leiva - Lazio to Gremo (free). Getty Images
Joselu - Alaves to Espanyol (free). Getty Images
Matt Turner - New England Revolution to Arsenal (£4.7m). Reuters
Fernandinho - Manchester City to Athletico Paranaense (free). PA
Bartol Franjic - Dinamo Zagreb to Wolfsburg (£6.9m). Getty Images
Wahbi Khazri - Saint-Etienne to Montpellier (free). AFP
Tobias Figueiredo - Hull City to Nottingham Forest (free). PA
Pietro Pellegri - Monaco to Tornio (£3.9m). Getty Images
Erling Haaland - Borussia Dortmund to Manchester City. Getty Images
Malcolm Ebiowei - Derby County to Crystal Palace (undisclosed). PA
Taiwo Awoniyi - Union Berlin to Nottingham Forest (£17m). Getty Images
Gareth Bale - Real Madrid to Los Angeles FC (free). PA
Lucas Alario - Bayer Leverkusen to Eintracht Frankfurt (£5.6m). PA
Sadio Mane - Liverpool to Bayern Munich (£28m). Getty Images
Armindo Sieb - Bayern Munich to Greuther Fürth (undisclosed fee). Getty Images
Nick Pope - Burnley to Newcastle (£10m). PA
Ki-Jana Hoever - Wolves to PSV Eindhoven (loan). PA
Ryan Fredericks - West Ham United to Bournemouth (free). Getty Images
Mario Götze - PSV Eindhoven to Eintracht Frankfurt (£3.4m). Getty Images
Fabio Vieira - Porto to Arsenal (£30m). EPA
Antonio Rudiger - Chelsea to Real Madrid (free). PA
Merih Demiral - Juventus to Atalanta (£17.2m). AFP
Giovanni Simeone - Cagliari to Hellas Verona (£10.3m). AP
Marc Roca - Bayern Munich to Leeds United (£10m). PA
Yves Bissouma - Brighton to Tottenham (£25m). PA
Gavin Bazunu - Manchester City to Southampton (£12m). PA
Darwin Nunez - Benfica to Liverpool (£64.3m). PA
Aurelien Tchouameni - Monaco to Real Madrid (£85.3m). AFP
Nemanja Matic - Manchester United to Roma (free). EPA
Ryan Gravenberch - Ajax to Bayern Munich (£20m). EPA
Giorgio Chiellini - Juventus to Los Angeles FC (released). Getty Images
Cameron Carter-Vickers - Tottenham to Celtic (£6m). AFP
Alexandre Lacazette - Arsenal to Lyon (free transfer). AFP
Updated: July 12, 2022, 4:26 AM