OUSMANE DEMBELE has rejected a new contract at Barcelona following a furious meeting with club bosses – as TWO Premier League clubs contacted the winger over a free transfer.
The French winger, 24, is believed to have agreed to personal terms last week and told Xavi and Co he wanted to stay.
But after a nervy, hours-long meeting, Dembele’s agent left WITHOUT his client putting pen to paper, according to Spanish outlet Sport.
Dembele has long been linked with a move away from the Nou Camp as injuries continue to hamper his progress following his £138million move from Borussia Dortmund in 2017.
But new boss Xavi has piled praise on the forward time and time again and is said to be fighting tooth and nail to keep him.
Last week, reports suggested Dembele had greed a new five-year deal at Barcelona on a LOWER weekly wage.
The cash-strapped club are desperate to trim back their sky-high wage bill, despite splashing £55m on Manchester City forward Ferran Torres.
Barca and Dembele were both confident the deal would be sealed by the end of the year.
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But after a horror meeting, the chasm between the two parties has now blown wide open.
And with Dembele out of contract at the end of the season he and his representatives will be able to kickstart pre-contract negotiations with foreign clubs from SATURDAY.
Dembele and his team are claimed to be furious with Barcelona’s direction after looking to slash his wages, despite shelling out the big bucks on Torres.
The winger will now only stay if he is offered the wages he is asking for – and not a penny less.
It had already been claimed that Dembele went against the wishes of his agents by agreeing to a new deal.
As well as Man Utd, a host of clubs including Newcastle, Tottenham and Liverpool have been linked with the 27-cap international.
Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has now revealed TWO Premier League clubs have approached Dembele and are willing to offer the sky-high wages he is demanding.
Romano tweeted: “Ousmane Dembele has been approached by two Premier League clubs to sign as free agent, offering big salary.
“His plan was to stay, but he won’t sign a new deal if Barca don’t offer him salary he wants – situation now ‘really complicated’.”
It’s not yet clear which Prem teams have contacted Dembele – but Newcastle and Man Utd are itching to bolster their attacking ranks to help their fights at opposite ends of the table.
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