MADRID: Barcelona is shoring up its attack following Neymar’s departure by buying Ousmane Dembele from Borussia Dortmund in a deal that could reach 147 million euros (about $173 million), second only to the Brazilian star’s world-record transfer.
Barcelona said on Friday the 20-year-old Dembele will be officially introduced after undergoing a physical and signing his contract on Monday.
“Visca Barca, Visca Catalunya! (Long Live Barca, Long Live Catalonia!),” Dembele posted on Twitter.
The Spanish club will pay 105 million euros ($124 million) plus possible add-ons in “contingent payments” that could reach about 40 percent of the fixed transfer fee, Dortmund said in a statement, without elaborating.
Neymar left for Paris Saint-Germain for more than 220 million euros ($260 million) just before the start of the season. That amount was the buyout clause on his contract.
Barcelona said Dembele’s contract will have a buyout clause of 400 million euros ($472 million).
The talented youngster, touted as one of France’s most promising players along with 18-year-old Kylian Mbappe of Monaco, will wear Neymar’s former No. 11 shirt.
“Dembele is a player who is very quick and technical,” Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde said. “He can play on both sides of the field and he gives us depth, which is something that we need.”
Dortmund reportedly turned down Barcelona’s opening bid of 85 million euros ($100 million) to acquire the player who played in attack for France against England in June in a friendly.
Dembele was fined and suspended by Dortmund after skipping training without permission. He reportedly refused all contact with the club after Barcelona made him the initial offer.
Dembele moved to Dortmund from Rennes last year in a transfer worth 15 million euros (about $16.7 at the time).
He scored six goals and set up 13 others in 32 Bundesliga games last season. His contract with Dortmund was valid until 2021.
Manchester United paid 105 million euros (then $116 million) to sign Paul Pogba from Juventus in what was a record transfer last year, but there was no mention of add-ons on that deal.
Barcelona brings in Dembele to try to replace Neymar
Barcelona brings in Dembele to try to replace Neymar
Vonn crashes out of Winter Olympics in brutal end to medal dream
- The 41-year-old was just 13 seconds into her run when she lost control
- Skiing legend was aiming to win another medal despite competing with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy: Lindsey Vonn crashed out of the Winter Olympics downhill on Sunday, brutally ending the American skiing great’s improbable dream of winning a medal despite competing with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.
Vonn was just 13 seconds into her run in bright sunshine in Cortina d’Ampezzo when she lost control, twisted in the air and crumpled in the snow.
The 41-year-old’s cries of pain could be heard on the microphones as medical staff attended to the stricken skier on the piste.
Thousands of spectators at the bottom of the run fell silent as they watched the images of the crash on giant screens.
Vonn was eventually strapped into a stretcher and winched into the air by helicopter to be flown to hospital.
Her US teammate Breezy Johnson went on to win the gold medal, but her first thoughts were for Vonn, saying: “My heart goes out to her. I hope it’s not as bad as it looked.”
Johnson finished in front of Germany’s Emma Aicher by just 0.04sec with Italy’s Sofia Goggia taking bronze in front of her home fans.
Vonn’s sister Karin Kildow, who watched the crash on giant screens at the course, said: “That definitely was the last thing we wanted to see.”
Hopes dashed
Just two weeks ago, Vonn, one of global sport’s most recognizable faces, looked in contention to cap a remarkable comeback from retirement by winning the second Olympic gold medal of her career — her last came 16 years ago in the downhill at the 2010 Vancouver Games.
She had retired in 2019 but returned to the slopes in 2024 after surgery to insert a titanium implant in her right knee to quell persistent pain.
But her Olympic plans were thrown into disarray when she crashed in a World Cup race at Crans Montana, Switzerland, on January 30.
In a press conference once she arrived in Italy, she admitted she had ruptured her ACL in the crash, but insisted she could still compete for medals.
“This is not obviously what I had hoped for.... I know what my chances were before the crash and and I know my chances aren’t the same as it stands today,” she said then.
“But I know there’s still a chance, and as long as there’s a chance I will try.”
She even batted aside those who doubted her ability to perform with such an injury, taking to social media to fire back at a sports doctor for doubting her ACL tear was as bad as she claimed.
In other action on Sunday, the second full day of the Milan-Cortina Games, Czech snowboarder Zuzana Maderova won gold in the women’s parallel giant slalom after the shock exit of defending champion Ester Ledecka.
Ledecka crashed out in the quarter-finals as the Czech chased what would have been a historic snowboarding title in three consecutive Olympics.
Maderova enjoyed a comfortable victory over Ledecka’s conqueror Sabine Payer, cruising to victory by 0.83sec.
In Tesero, Norwegian cross-country skier Johannes Klaebo racked up the sixth Olympic gold medal of his career by taking the skiathlon title.
Later, attention will switch the ice rink as the USA go into the final day of the figure skating team event seeking to resist a stiff challenge from Japan.
Ilia Malinin, the US sensation who was upstaged on his Olympic debut on Saturday by Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama, skates again on Sunday in the free program.
