As Barcelona prepare for tonight’s (Thursday) rematch against Napoli in Italy (22:00, Sport2) in the Europa League playoffs, Barcelona are dealing with the status of Osman Dembele, the French attacking player, who refused to renew his contract (so he can leave for free at the end of the season). Get a new and oilier contract with signing grants in a new team) and received quite a few contempt whistles from the fans.
There were quite a few arguments among the Barcelona people about what to do with Dembele in light of his refusal to extend his contract, and while quite a few management wanted to dry him off the bench as a punishment and lesson – coach Xavi thought only professionally and decided it was best to use him until the end of the season. The problem was that the audience did not forgive so quickly, and also well remembers a long line of disciplinary incidents and problems with him, so he whistles contemptuously at him.
But Xavi continues to defend the Frenchman, what Catalan “Sport” calls a “campaign to clean Dembele.” Xavi, in fact, is trying to change his attitude towards Dembele to persuade him to stay at Barça, and possibly get the crowd to change their attitude as well. “I see him here relaxed, really, and I would like him to stay,” Xavi said, “Dembele can make a difference in any team in the world. And I hope it will be here. I would like him to stay, and so do the rest of his teammates.”
Xavi even exaggerated a bit and said: “I see him here happy, professional, set an example… had no problem with him, I did not hear anything about him. Not that he is not a professional, or does not keep to himself. For me, it is just the opposite. He practices “Strong, positive with the team. Let’s see what happens to him by the end of the season.”
Mark Ter Stegen also cooperates with the trend, saying: “He has a contract until the end of the season, and everyone decides what suits him. He is a very talented player, and we want him here, because he is a player who can make a difference. I hope he stays in Barcelona.”
After listing 1: 4 over Valencia away in the league, Barcelona will try to continue the momentum against Napoli. Dembele has again been invited to the squad and may open again, while Memphis Depai is still not fully fit and has not left with the team for Italy. Napoli today introduced a new bus with a picture of Diego Maradona and the club said: “Now he will accompany us to every game”. Yesterday Xavi was asked about the comparison between Maradona and Leo Messi, and did not hesitate to say: “Maradona would have been and remains the best in history, if Leo Messi had not appeared… he would undoubtedly have been the best of all time, and it would be an honor for us to play here.”