Daniel Riolo doesn't rule out Ousmane Dembele leaving PSG before the deadline. The journalist insists the rest could be punishment for the Ballon d'Or winner.
Rested for a week and absent for PSG's trip to Lille on Friday night, Ousmane Dembele has been the subject of several rumours over the past few hours, including one launched by Daniel Riolo.
On RMC's airwaves on Tuesday, the After Foot journalist dropped a real bombshell, asserting that a departure could not be ruled out for Dembele before Sept. 1. "There is a problem between Dembele and PSG. This week of rest looks like a heavy punishment," said Riolo, adding: "I am not even ruling out a departure. I would not fall out of my chair if it happened."
Enough to stir up the web and worry the Parisian supporters, quickly reassured by the insider Djamel, whose information about PSG is generally very reliable. "Luis Enrique simply proposed that he take a few days to breathe and come back at 100%. A proposal happily accepted by the player," he specified.
Riolo may have been a bit hasty in raising a major problem between Dembele and PSG, or even a departure. The journalist acknowledged this on X this Wednesday, the day after that eventful evening.
"Clarification: On the Dembele affair that falls right before the start of After RMC. The versions diverge. During the show, we are looking into it. We have the right version. We did our best. It is hard to be patient. Sorry. But I am not going to apologise for the botched X posts," published the RMC journalist, who half-admits that he was certainly too quick in his analysis on air.
This at least has the merit of closing, for the moment, what looked like the beginning of a Dembele affair. It would therefore be nothing of the sort, since the player reportedly simply accepted a proposal from Luis Enrique to give him a breather so that the Ballon d'Or winner, who cut short his vacation to play in the European Super Cup, could come back at 100% of his physical and mental capacity.
In other news, PSG and Liverpool have made progress on the Bradley Barcola saga, but no agreement has been reached yet.
“Liverpool and PSG are currently holding crucial discussions in order to clarify the situation regarding the envisioned transfer of Bradley Barcola,” reports The Athletic, which adds that these discussions “are considered an important step in defining the way forward regarding a possible transfer of the 23-year-old player, who is determined to join the Merseyside club.”
