Dembele is backed footballers' union over Barcelona contract row

Ousmane Dembele is backed by the Spanish footballers’ union after being FROZEN OUT by Barcelona over failed contract talks, as they say the club’s actions could be ‘ILLEGAL’ if they are trying to force him to sign a new deal

  • Barcelona misfit Ousmane Dembele has been backed in his spat with the club 
  • The club’s froze him out of the squad after refusing to sign a new contract  
  • The Spanish footballers’ union said the could be illegal if they were attempting to pressure the player into agreeing new terms  

The Spanish Footballers’ union AFE have warned Barcelona over freezing out Ousmane Dembele because he won’t sign a new contract.

The French winger is running down his current deal and will be available for free this summer and Barcelona Director of Football Mateu Alemany has told him he should leave the club ‘as soon as possible’.

The 24-year-old winger has been left out of Barcelona’s squad to face Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey tonight.

Barcelona misfit Ousmane Dembele has been backed by a footballers’ union after he was frozen out by the club over failed contract talks

Director of football Mateu Alemany urged him to leave as soon as possible and slammed his commitment to the club

But AFE issued a statement saying: ‘It’s true that a professional footballer has no [automatic] right to be picked to be in the squad for all games but he does have a right to be treated the same as his team-mates.

‘If the situation [being left out] can be understood as a pressure on him [to sign a new deal, or leave] and in addition there are public statements acknowledging this type of pressure, we would be dealing with an illegal action on the part of the club.’

The statement added: ‘AFE considers that a failure to reach an agreement to renew an employment contract does not constitute a breach of employment.’

The players’ union argument is that Barcelona have signed a contract with Dembele until June 2022 and the player does not have to extend his deal before then. Barcelona can refuse to pick him but to public admit to doing so because he will not sign or leave would be legal.

The AFE said Barcelona’s actions could be illegal if they were attempting to pressure Dembele




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