Laporta softens stance on Dembele

BARCELONA: On Monday, Barcelona president Joan Laporta said he hoped Ousmane Dembele would “consider” extending his contract at the end of the season, after accusing him of “blackmail” in January.

Laporta’s remarks followed a dazzling display by the 24-year-old French World Cup winner against Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.

Barca told Dembele in January that he would have to leave if he refused to sign his contract at the end of the season.

Laporta stated at the time that Dembele’s contract holdout would make his playing difficult.

After being dropped for two matches and spending a third on the bench, Dembele has returned to the starting line-up for the last two Liga games.

On Sunday, he turned the jeers to cheers at Camp Nou by scoring a stunning goal, his first in La Liga this season, and setting up two more in a 4-0 victory over Bilbao before going off to an ovation after 67 minutes.

“Dembele knows our offer and knows that we always wanted him to stay. We hope he will think again at the end of the season,” Laporta said at a conference on the future of Barcelona.

“In football, you can never rule anything out. Look: he could not play, and now he plays, and he plays well. But his contract extension does not depend on me,”

Xavi, the Barca coach, praised Dembele after Sunday’s game but said he had nothing to do with whether the striker stays.

“He is a great professional. Let’s encourage him,” said Xavi. “It’s not a question for me, it’s a question for the club, for Ousmane,” Xavi said. “His contract ends. Nothing can be ruled out in football. He couldn’t play and now he’s playing. He can be the best in his position.”

Even though Barcelona added Adama Traore, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ferran Torres in the January window, Xavi said:  “Circumstances have made it necessary to find a solution with Ousmane.

“We got together and decided that he was part of the team. We can’t afford to shoot ourselves in the foot.”