Juventus and Manchester United, Dembele's possible destinations

The breakdown in talks to renew Ousmane Dembele's contract has not caught Barcelona completely by surprise. The club believed in the player's word -- he expressed a desire to continue openly -- but they were also informed of meetings that his camp were having with several other clubs. Especially with Juventus and Manchester United since the summer, with Barça having a feeling that some sort of pre-agreement has been loosely agreed with one of these two clubs.

Dembele was close to United two years ago. A loan with an option to buy had been agreed but was never finalised because the player would not extend his contract at Camp Nou by an additional year as protection for Barça. At the time, Barça saw it as a strategic move from Debele as part of his desire to leave for nothing in the summer of 2022, and pocket a big signing on fee, something he's close to achieving now.

United have always viewed Dembele as a market opportunity and their interest has never completely disappeared. Despite everything, Juve entered in the race strongly last year and have a serious chance of landing the player, helped by the tax rates for players in Italy. Chelsea have also been in talks with the player, although it seems Bayern Munich have dropped out of the race due to the salary demands made by Dembele's people. Paris Saint-Germain, meanwhile, have other priorities at the moment and are not convinced by the player because of his injury history.