Ousmane Dembélé, the French World Cup-winning winger, has completed his move to Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona for a fee of €50.4 million. The 26-year-old signed a five-year contract with the Ligue 1 champions, who have added another star to their already formidable squad. Dembélé joined Barcelona in 2017 from Borussia Dortmund for a whopping €105 million plus add-ons, making him the second most expensive player in the world then.
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He was expected to fill the void left by Neymar, who had joined PSG for a record-breaking €222 million. However, Dembélé's time at Barcelona was marred by injuries, inconsistency, and disciplinary issues. The winger scored 40 goals and provided 43 assists in 185 appearances for the Catalan club, winning three La Liga titles and two Spanish Super Cup trophies.
Dembélé had extended his contract with Barcelona until 2024 last year, but the club was keen to offload him this summer to ease their financial woes. PSG showed interest in signing him and agreed to pay his €50 million private release clause. According to Sport, the Catalan club will get €35.5 million out of the €54.4 million because of a clause in the contract.
Dembélé underwent a medical in Paris on Friday and was officially announced as a PSG player on Saturday, August 12. Dembélé will play under his former Barcelona coach, Luis Enrique, who replaced Christophe Galtier as PSG manager in July. The 26-year-old will wear the number 23 at the Parisian club.
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“We are delighted to welcome Ousmane Dembélé to Paris Saint Germain, where he will be an important and committed player for our Club," said Nasser Al-Khelaifi. “The passion and determination shown by Ousmane when he joined PSG is fantastic and is the attitude required for all our players. We are proud to have another French World Cup winner at Paris Saint-Germain as we enter a new great era for our Club.”
