Ferran Torres joked that he would kidnap Barcelona contract rebel Ousmane Dembele in order to keep him at the Nou Camp.
Ferran Torres has spoken out against Ousmane Dembele’s contract predicament in an interview with the media, as reported by Goal. In a “tongue in cheek” gesture, the Spanish attacker joked that he would kidnap the French international to keep him at Camp Nou.
The Barcelona attacker said, “I would kidnap him in Barcelona! It’s a good club, one of the best in the world. But there are things that are none of our business. It’s his decision. Whatever he decides, I wish him all the best.”
Since coming from Borussia Dortmund in August 2017, Ousmane Dembele has become a divisive character at Barcelona, despite having shown plenty of promise. However, a series of injuries have hampered the French forward’s improvement over the last half-decade, preventing him from reaching his full potential.
The 24-year-career old’s as a Barcelona player came to an end in the January transfer window, when sporting director Mateu Alemany revealed that contract renewal talks between the two parties had reached a point of no return. Dembele received a lot of flak from Barcelona fans after the news.
Xavi Hernandez, on the other hand, has consistently backed the 2018 FIFA World Cup champion, even correctly predicting that supporters will begin to celebrate him again. During his pre-match press conference for the UEFA Europa League quarter-final first leg against Eintracht Frankfurt, the Barcelona manager also mentioned Dembele’s contract situation.
Despite recent discussions to re-start contract talks, Barcelona and Dembele may still be far off on respective valuations. Keeping hold of the 24-year-old will undoubtedly benefit the Blaugrana, especially given his recent form.
Dembele has established himself as one of Barcelona’s main creative outlets, with ten assists in just 13 La Liga appearances. He also came off the bench to help Barcelona come back from a goal down to draw 1-1 with Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday.
Retaining the youthful forward will save Barcelona millions in transfer costs, and Ferran Torres’ remarks may strike a chord with many Barcelona supporters. While no one will go to the lengths of kidnapping Dembele, they will want him to stay at Camp Nou, much like Torres.
