Barcelona president, Joan Laporta, has slammed Ousmane Dembele’s decision to remain at the club after the January transfer window closed on Monday night.

WuzupNigeria had reported Dembele’s contract expires in the summer but talks with Barca over a new deal have broken down with the club failing to meet his financial demands as they owe debts of over a billion euro.

Having failed to reach an agreement with the player, Barca’s football director Mateu Alemany said, “it seems obvious to us that the player does not want to continue at Barcelona” and “therefore we hope that a transfer will take place before January 31”.

Dembele, who joined from Borussia Dortmund in 2017 in a deal worth 140 million euros ($158.9 million), responded by saying he won’t give in to blackmail.

Barcelona then went ahead to sign former academy play, Adama Traore on loan from Wolves, with an option to sign him permanently, as a replacement for the expected departure of Dembele.

The Spanish club went further to signed Arsenal outcast, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on a free transfer on deadline day but the Frenchman who was close to joining, Chelsea, hours before the closure of the window on Monday night failed to secure a move away from the club, leaving matters complicated for both himself and the club.

Sky Sports reported that Barca and Arsenal are yet to announce the completion of Aubameyang’s move, and Dembele remains at the club despite Laporta trying to sell him.

Speaking on Tuesday, Laporta said: “I like to give good news rather than bad news. Some good news is the end to our winter transfer market.

“We will present Adama Traore tomorrow and, if everything continues well, we will also present Aubameyang.”

“Dembele was a big investment, with a big salary. He has been one of the last-minute situations. We offered him an extension, but he wanted a better offer in economic terms.

“His agent decided to stay in silence and this, of course, has consequences for the interests of the club.

“We presented two good offers for him for this remaining six months. He didn’t want to accept and we are surprised that he didn’t accept the last one with an English team.

“He has decided to stay here. It makes no sense. It is bad for him or bad for the club.

“Extending the contract would have allowed us to extend our (financial) fair play (capacity). We were working till the last minute, until 12 o’clock, with Aubameyang and it was difficult.

“We think he has an agreement with another club for the summer. This is what the agent explained to us. I don’t know what they think but we will act in the interests of the club.”