Ousmane Dembélé turns down a huge offer from Saudi Arabia club Al-Nassr

Teams in the Saudi Pro-League have been on the offensive this year, snapping up talent left, right and centre. While a lot of the talent is stars coming to the end of their careers like Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and  N’Golo Kante, they’ve also tried to tempt players in their prime with financial packages that are hard to turn down. However, Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembélé has done just that, turning down a huge deal from Saudi club Al-Nassr.

According to a report by journalist Santi Aouna from Foot Mercato, Dembélé received a 5-year contract offer that would have paid him €40 million a year, with Al-Nassr ready to pay the €50 million release clause in his contract.

Dembélé signed for Barcelona back in 2017 for a whopping feel of €135 million in total, after joining Borussia Dortmund from Rennes for just €35 million a year earlier.

It was this kind of deal that put Barcelona into the financial issues they’re still trying to work their way out of.

Not that Dembélé isn’t a fine player, he’s often either the best or one of the best players on the pitch every time he plays, but a €100 million increase in value in 12 months based on a season where he scored 6 goals and registered 13 assists is illogical.

Barcelona is looking to extend Ousmane Dembélé’s contract

12 months ago it looks as though Dembélé’s time in Catalonia could be coming to an end, but after a number of positive performances last season, Barca is looking to extend the World Cup winner’s contract.

Often deployed on the right-hand side, Xavi’s space system often tries to isolate the French winger one-on-one with the opponent’s left backs, with plenty of space in behind to run into.

Although he experienced his fair share of injuries last season, he did contribute 5 goals and 7 assists in 25 games as Barcelona won their first La Liga title since 2018-19.

His current contract runs out in 2024, but Barca has offered him the chance to extend his stay through to 2028.

Part of the new contract will see his release clause increased, likely to a number around €500 million.