'I'm disappointed in him' - Ousmane Dembele wants transfer to PSG and Barcelona 'can't do anything' about it, admits Xavi

Speaking to TV3 following a 1-0 pre-season win over Milan, the Barca boss admitted that he expects Dembele to leave for Paris in the coming days, and that there is nothing he can do about it. PSG triggered Dembele's release clause of €50 million (£43m/$54m) on August 1 to deal a serious blow for the La Liga champions, who had hoped to receive the full asking price of €100m for the French international. Xavi has made no efforts to disguise his thoughts on the departure of the 26-year-old.

Dembele has told us that he wants to leave," said Xavi. "I am a little disappointed. He has a proposal from PSG and we can't do anything. We can't compete with the proposal made to him from France. This is the market. Footballers who do not want to be at Barça, they have to be let go." Discussing the idea of life without Dembele, he continued: "We had a stage prepared for this possible loss and now we have to strengthen ourselves. Ousmane's loss weakens us.

It's hard to disagree with the statement that Barca's squad is weakened by the departure of Dembele, although they still go into the 2023-24 season with an array of attacking talent. The prolific Robert Lewandowski will continue to lead the line, while young star Ansu Fati impressed against Milan, and highly promising La Masia graduate Lamine Yamal is likely to make more of a mark on the first XI. They'll also be actively looking for a Dembele replacement in the coming weeks.

The 1-0 win friendly win over Milan — hosted in Las Vegas at the Allegiant Stadium — was the final match of Barcelona's pre-season campaign. The stage of the transfer window at which PSG have triggered Dembele's contract clause seems to be the main frustration for the Catalan club, who now have less than a month to find a replacement for the Frenchman.