Ousmane Dembele has to be on the pitch for Barça

Ousmane Dembele has to be on the pitch for Barça

Dídac Peyret
| sport

I believe more in restrained conviction than in people who never change their minds. Changing your mind gets a lot of bad press, but it can unravel a sticky situation.

The current context Barça are in invites us to be pragmatic and simplify problems. And that includes the Dembélé case. Even in a reconstruction scenario, where the future comes before results, it is non-negotiable to finish the season in the Champions League positions.

From here on out, leaving him out looks much less understandable as a sporting decision than a club one.

I can't think of a situation that compromises the future of Barça more than not making the Champions League. Barça needs the income from the competition, and its prestige, to be able to compete with other clubs for the best players on the market.

Ansu's injury and elimination from the cup further underline an uncomfortable reality: Barça need Dembélé right now. Even more so knowing that he will neither leave now nor be in favour of entering into a player exchange.

The only reason to stand by leaving him in the stands would be to send a message, but will you be able as a club to be consistent with the agents' games? The same strategy that plays against you today will be your best ally when you go to sign a footballer whose contract is ending.

The best that Barça can do now is to squeeze out what they can from Dembélé until June and deactivate a bad dynamic that will end up burning Xavi himself. Barça are likely to be great again when they don't need Dembélé.

It is possible that, in a Barça aspiring to win the Champions League, he would not be a starter. But the best club decision in this diminished Barça, which needs to be in the European elite, is to take advantage of Dembélé now so as not to need him in the future.

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