Ousmane Dembele is ‘happy at Barcelona’ and wants to stay amid reports linking him to a move to Paris Saint-Germain in his native France.
Dembele has had a mixed time in La Liga since joining Barça in 2017 due to big money from Borussia Dortmund, but the 25-year-old has had a productive period since Xavi took over at the club last season .
He has scored more goals than any other Blue Garnet player since Xavi took over as head coach in November 2021, with eight goals and 20 assists.
That includes six goals and seven assists in 22 games this season (17 starts) and Dembele also had two assists in his seven appearances for France as they finished second at the World Cup in Qatar.
However, despite speculation that PSG could take him to Ligue 1, the former Rennes winger told Belgian TV station Eleven Sports he was pleased with the Camp Nou.
“I signed a new contract with Barça four months ago and I am happy here, I want to keep working and improving at Barcelona,” he said. “I feel good here, I’m happy in Barcelona, I like my life here. The coach trusts me, and the board [trust me] too much.”
28 – Ousmane Dembele has scored more goals than any other Barcelona player in all competitions under Xavi Hernandez (28 – 8 goals and 20 assists). Pillar. pic.twitter.com/3HnlF3uyC6
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) January 4, 2023
Dembele only has 18 months left on his contract, but Barcelona president Joan Laporta on Thursday said he was “not for sale”, telling Sport: “If PSG come to sign him, we will tell them he is not for sale.
“He is one of the most important players we have. He has extraordinary speed, he is lightning. Every time he gets the ball he upsets the defense and yesterday [in the 4-3 Copa del Rey win against Intercity] he scored a great goal.
“He won’t go for 70 million euros or any other amount.”