“You have to be smarter than your ego” – Dani Alves tells Barcelona to ‘take advantage’ of Ousmane Dembele

Barcelona defender Dani Alves has encouraged the club to make use of Ousmane Dembele’s talents despite the protracted transfer saga surrounding him.

The 24-year old Dembele is set to become a free agent at the end of the season. Barcelona wanted to move him on in January to improve their financial position but the winger refused two deals, according to club president Joan Laporta.

Laporta revealed that one of the offers was from a Premier League club. However, Dembele instead opted to stay at the club despite uncertainty over playing time.

Of course, Barcelona initially offered a contract renewal that was rejected by Dembele as the Frenchman wanted improved terms. Manager Xavi Hernandez is reportedly fed up with the situation and wants to move the winger on. Barcelona needs to offload more players in order to make room for signings in the summer.

However, Dani Alves believes the club should make use of Ousmane Dembele’s talents while he is available:

“As long as he’s still at Barça, you have to defend him, take advantage of the fact that he’s still here. You have to be smarter than your ego.”

Multiple Premier League clubs interested in signing Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembele

The 24-year-old Dembele is reported to have attitude issues. However, the winger’s talent is unquestionable which is part of the reason why Barcelona wanted to renew his contract. Dembele has scored 31 goals and made 22 assists in 129 appearances for Barcelona since making a €105 million move from Borussia Dortmund.

However, in all probability, the French winger will leave on a free transfer in the summer. Laporta was led to believe by Dembele’s agent that the winger has an existing agreement in place with another club to join as a free agent.

Chelsea are the club most widely linked with the Frenchman although the likes of PSG, Manchester United and Manchester City have all been said to be interested.

For the time being, it appears as though Dembele is happy to take home his wages while not receiving regular gametime at Barcelona under Xavi Hernandez.

For the time being, it does make sense for Xavi to heed Dani Alves’ advice and play the talented winger for the rest of the campaign.