Barcelona will not soften their stance on Ousmane
Dembele despite the French winger’s social media outburst over his recent contact
deadlock with the club, head coach Xavi Hernandez said on Saturday.

“Dembele’s situation hasn’t changed. He
knows what the options are and he has to decide,” news agency AFP quoted Xavi
saying at a press conference ahead of the Catalans’ trip to Alaves in the La Liga.

“There is no alternative. There are still
days left (in the transfer window),” he added.

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On Thursday, Barca’s director of football
Mateu Alemany said the Frenchman will have to find a new club after refusing to
agree to a new deal.

“During the six, seven months that we have
been negotiating and talking, Barça has made several offers for Ousmane to
continue with us, all of which have been rejected by his agents. It seems
obvious to us that the player does not want to continue at Barcelona” and
“therefore we hope that a transfer will take place before January 31,”
Alemany said.

He was also left out the squad for the Copa
del Rey clash against Athletic Bilbao on Thursday.

In response, Dembele said he will “not give
in to blackmail” insisting he is “fully committed to this sporting project”. Signed
from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2017 for a reported €140 million, Dembele
is in the last year of his contract with the Catalans and will be able to leave
the club as a free agent in the summer.

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Dembele has been linked with a move to the
Premier League, with Chelsea and Newcastle United among potential suitors, but
it remains to be seen if Barcelona can secure a deal for the forward, either
for a transfer fee or on loan.

Moving his wages off the books will also
help the club secure new signings.  “We
are working to bring players in. We’ll see what we can do,” Xavi said.

On Ansu Fati’s injury, which the forward
sustained during the loss to Athletic on Thursday, Xavi said, “He is very upset,
it’s a difficult situation”.