As Ousmane Dembele inches closer to finalising his transfer to PSG from Barcelona, reports of details about what led to his decision and his talks with manager Xavi Hernandez are starting to pour in.
The Frenchman, after all, had forged a very close relationship with the manager over the past twenty months or so, with the winger playing some of his finest football in Barça colours under Xavi’s tutelage.
Xavi expressed his disappointment about Dembele’s decision while interacting with the press after the Catalans’ pre-season friendly against AC Milan.
Meanwhile, reports on Thursday revealed that the Frenchman had held a conversation with the manager in which he said that he wanted to continue but felt like the environment around him was not healthy.
Now, SPORT has come out with more details about the chat that the manager and the player had before he flew off to Paris to complete his transfer.
Dembele’s last words to Xavi before exit
During the interaction, Dembele is understood to have told Xavi that he would have stayed at the club for the manager and the fans, but there were other reasons behind his decision to leave.
“If it were up to you, I would stay, coach. For you and for the fans, I would stay, but this is not the problem,” he is understood to have said.
The report suggests that Dembele showed his gratitude to Xavi and wanted to make it clear that his decision had nothing to do with the manager or the coaching staff.
Instead, it is claimed that the 26-year-old felt he did not enjoy the trust of several figures within the club, which played a part in his decision to leave.
The move could be officially confirmed as early as today.
