Barcelona striker misses deadline, no choice but to accept club's terms

In an unexpected turn of events, Ousmane Dembele's Barcelona contract expiration date has come and gone, but he has not been snatched up by another club. Furthermore, no contract extension with the Catalan giants has been agreed until now.

What's interesting about the Dembele saga is that it has long been believed that he has tempting offers from other clubs, which is why he and his agent have been ignoring Barcelona's renewal offers for the past several months. The club even believed that he may have already signed a pre-contract agreement back in January.

However, June has ended and there appears to be no movement in terms of the Frenchman committing his future with another club. Even though he is now officially a free agent, it appears as though he may actually end up with no other choice but to accept the Catalans' offer. Incidentally, the club now has the power to dictate terms if no solid offer from another club comes to the fore.

Barcelona had been frustrated for a number of months due to the lack of interest from Dembele's side despite the fact that Xavi has made it clear that he wants the player to stay at the Camp Nou. Dembele was thought to be keen to stay, but his rejection of Barcelona's offer during the winter transfer window made it appear as though he had a much better option elsewhere.

Barcelona made it clear that they believe they have a good offer on the table and that they are not willing to sacrifice their finances for any player. They need to remain firm in order to solve their wage bill issues.

Now, it seems like the club has the upper hand. If Dembele does not have a better offer from elsewhere, he may be forced to take a pay cut of about 40% in order to continue at the Camp Nou. According to Football España, that would take him to around the same pay grade as youngster Ansu Fati.

It is clearly not the ideal situation for the World Cup winning player, but unless he has a better deal waiting for him, he may have to swallow his pride and accept the extension on Barcelona's terms.