Ousmane Dembele hits back at Barcelona and will REFUSE to leave this transfer window and honour his contract

: "Gossip about me has been piling up for four years. It's been fours years since people have spoken for me, shamefully lied with one sole purpose - to harm me.

"As of today it's over. From today I will speak honestly without giving in to any kind of blackmail.

"My message is transparent. I forbid anyone to give the impression that I am not involved in the sports project.

"I forbid anyone to attribute intentions to me that I have never had. I forbid anyone to speak for me or my representative, whom I fully trust.

"Still under contract, I am fully involved and at the disposal of my club, my coach.

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"I have always given everything for my colleagues and also for all the partners - it is not now that this is going to change. I am not a man who cheats and even less a man who has a habit of giving in to blackmail.

"As you know there are negotiations. I let my agent handle it, it's his turf.

"My field is the ball, playing football, sharing moments of joy with my team-mates. Above all, let's focus on winning."

Dembele was given a 48-hour deadline to reach an agreement over a new Barca contract after negotiations hit an impasse.

The winger reportedly demanded £700,000 a week and that meant the deadline passed without any progress in talks.

In response, Barcelona chief Mateu Alemany said: “It’s clear that Dembele does not want to continue with Barcelona. He doesn’t want to be part of our project.

“We told Dembele he has to leave immediately. We expect Ousmane to be sold before January 31."

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