With Barcelona set to take on Tottenham Hotspur in the Joan Gamper Trophy clash in a few hours, it has been decided that departing winger Ousmane Dembele will not be called up for the match.
This claim comes from Santi Ovalle, who reports that the Frenchman will not be involved with the team tonight as Barcelona wish to avoid any possibilities of a backlash towards the player from the fans.
Dembele is on the verge of leaving Barça, with an agreement already in place for him to join PSG. In fact, the 26-year-old was already in Paris last week to complete the move.
But due to delays from the Blaugrana in sending the required paperwork, the operation was not finalised and the club then called him back to train with the first team on Sunday.
Dembele will not be called up tonight
It opened up the possibility of the 2018 FIFA World Cup winner being a part of the proceedings tonight at the Montjuic Olympic Stadium, with Barcelona set to officially present the squad in front of the fans before the match against Tottenham.
It had been reported that Barcelona were considering having Dembele as part of the plans tonight so that he can face the supporters.
However, it appears that the La Liga champions have now decided against such a move and will not call up the Frenchman for the game so that there are no incidents.
Agreement close
In fact, reports just a while ago suggested that Barcelona and Dembele were closing in on an agreement to finalise his departure at the earliest possible.
The major sticking point has been the division of the €50 million transfer fee that they will receive from PSG, with Dembele and his entourage seeking half of the sum as per the terms of his contract.
Barça, though, are arguing that he is not entitled to a 50% share and wish to pocket more than half, leading to the move stalling briefly.
But an agreement now appears to be close which should help draw the curtains on the transfer saga.