Barcelona's life after Neymar looks to have begun, as the Catalan giants confirmed that they have completed the initial £97million signing of Borussia Dortmund's Ousmane Dembélé. 

Finding the heir to the Brazilian throne 

It has been a hell of a summer at the Nou Camp as their deadly MSN trio was split apart, as Neymar completed his world-record €222m move to Paris Saint-Germain. Barca have already spent a bit of that money with the capture of Paulinho, but the main focus has been on who will fill that left-wing position and they have been linked with a tonne of talent. 

The main focus has been on the saga involving Liverpool's Phillipe Coutinho who have had three bids rejected thus far, however despite the Merseyside club's resistance Barca have continued to break down Dortmund in their pursuit of the young Frenchman who they only signed last summer. 

They finally broke through with the 20-year-old signing a five-year deal with Barça and will take the 11 jersey from the recently departed Neymar, the initial fee is believed to be in the region of £97m with around £38m in add-ons which will make the second-most expensive player in history behind the Brazilian. 

Embed from Getty Images

Loves the club more than anyone 

The Neymar doesn't seem to be coming to an end just yet as the club announced they are going to sue the Brazilian for breach of contract, the 25-year-old's reaction certainly hasn't gone unnoticed as he has indicated that he isn't the only player at Barca to be unhappy. 

This hint has seen the attention turn to talisman Lionel Messi as it has since been revealed that his contract that he signed in the summer was false which has sparked rumours of a possible exit, but defender Gerard Piqué stated that nobody could love the club more than the Argentine. 

“Messi loves the club more than anyone,” Piqué told fcbarcelona.com. "We are not angry with the Club, nor is there a lack of communication.”

“I am not worried at all about his extension," he added. "Because I know him and I know how he is.”

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Danial  Kennedy
Award-winning sports journalism graduate. Currently studying a PR Masters at the University of Sunderland. Writing for VAVEL since August 2014. Twitter - @ddkjournalism.