Dembélé trained yesterday with the team and the club closes the signing of Raphinha with Leeds

The FC Barcelona has closed the extreme operation.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
16 July 2022 Saturday 11:34
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Dembélé trained yesterday with the team and the club closes the signing of Raphinha with Leeds

The FC Barcelona has closed the extreme operation. Ousmane Dembélé arrived in Barcelona on Sunday to stay after having reached an agreement in principle with Barça to sign until 2024. Although both parties are finishing polishing some contractual details, the Frenchman already went to the sports city yesterday afternoon to train with the group. The club hopes to announce its continuity today. It will not be the only announcement. Barça and Leeds yesterday reached a total agreement for another winger, the Brazilian Raphinha. At 25, the international with his country will sign with Barça until 2027. For Xavi, the signing of Raphinha is not incompatible with the continuity of Dembélé.

It was some Aubameyang stories on Instagram that revealed Dembélé's presence in the locker room, sitting between his box office neighbors Kessie and Umtiti. His continuity is expected to be made official today, Wednesday, after months of negotiations with many ups and downs. Both parties have reached an agreement to close his new contract with a salary reduction of 40 percent of the fixed one with respect to his last link, which ended on June 30, so his continuity counts as a new signing. Fulfilling the incentives of the new contract could guarantee you end up receiving an amount close to the previous base salary. The club will not meet the high economic expectations requested by his representative, Moussa Sissoko, who asked for a renewal premium. The series has gone through several phases. In January, after the meetings between Sissoko and Barça failed to reach any agreement to continue, the director of football, Mateu Alemany, publicly announced that Dembélé had to find a way out. The French found no destination. And Xavi intervened to recover him. Despite the fact that it was a difficult month, Dembélé is now a happy footballer and integrated into the squad. His environment ensures that his will was always to continue wearing the Barça shirt regardless of the offers that came from PSG, Bayern Munich and Chelsea.

Precisely the English club also tried to bid for Raphinha, for which it was willing to pay 75 million euros according to Blaugrana sources. The Brazilian, who with 11 goals managed to save Leeds last season, had reached an agreement with Barça weeks ago and managed not to travel to the tour that Jesse Marsch's team is doing in Australia waiting for the final agreement between Leeds and Barca. Finally, the Barcelona club will pay an amount that exceeds 55 million fixed euros plus another seven in variables. To close the signing, the role of his representative, former soccer player Deco, who also works at the club in charge of recruiting players in the Brazilian and Portuguese markets, has been crucial.