In what is breaking news, Spanish giants Barcelona have revealed that they have told one of their highest-paid players to leave the club immediately.
The Catalan club's sporting director Mateu Alemany has stepped in following Xavi Hernandez's comments about Ousmane Dembele on Wednesday to confirm that the 24-year-old will need to leave the club this month.
"We understand Dembele's decision is to not continue (at Barca) and we've communicated our decision (to exclude him)," he said, according to Barca Universal.
"We want players that are committed to the club and we have told him he has to leave the club as soon as possible."
Here are the 10 most expensive transfers of this window so far. Could Dembele enter this list?
On Wednesday, head coach Xavi publicly addressed the Frenchman's situation in Spain in a pre-match press conference ahead of their Copa del Rey clash against Athletic Bilbao.
Dembele has subsequently been left out of the team's matchday squad for the game, with journalist Fabrizio Romano reporting that the winger and Barcelona's relationship has reached its end. The player's contract will officially run out at the end of the 2021/22 campaign.
The ex-Borussia Dortmund star is said to be wanted by both Newcastle United and Juventus.
