The day Ousmane Dembele finally decided to leave Barcelona

Timings in the world of football are important, but Barcelona's needs did not allow them to dally because the club had made signing Ferran Torres a priority before committing to contract renewals. Ousmane Dembele was in line for a new deal, but Ronald Araujo, Gavi and Nico Gonzalez are also waiting.

The investment in Ferran was big, no one in the dressing room expected it, and has had a knock-on effect on upcoming negotiations. In the case of Dembele, it's almost ended the possibility of the Frenchman renewing. He does not understand the size of Barça's offer to him while they're paying 55 million euros for another winger.

It's not that talks with Dembele's camp was ever easy, but until December there was a margin to negotiate. It's true the Frenchman was always asking for 20 million euros annually plus commission for his agents and a bonus for signing. But he was aware of salary cutbacks elsewhere at the club and elsewhere in Europe and was open to listening.

The signing of Ferran Torres ended that possibility. Since then, Dembele's camp's posture has been much less flexible. They feel that Barça are in a better position again after betting so strongly on another player -- Ferran Torres -- for the future while they were left in the background. And from there, everything broke down.

Dembele's 'no' was coming. The famous 'timings' for the renewal had been thrown into the air. Now, Barça need to put everything into renewing Araujo, Gavi and Nico, but it's clear that the scenario has now changed. Dembele's dealt the first blow, although it's clear the three youngsters want to stay at Camp Nou and that will help.