"Cuckolded and beaten" - Joan Gaspart suggests Ousmane Dembele must continue to feature for Barcelona while he is still at the club 

Former Barcelona president Joan Gaspart has opined that Ousmane Dembele must continue to feature for Barcelona while he is still at the club. Gaspart said that having Dembele in the team and not putting him on the pitch during games would be "cuckolded and beaten".

The 24-year-old French forward has had issues with the Spanish club after rejecting a new contract extension offer this season. Dembele rejected the offer made by Barcelona, expressing that he deserves a better pay hike. Blaugrana president Joan Laporta also revealed that Dembele reacted positively to the new offer but later rejected it.

Gaspart shared his views on the depleting economic resources of his former club and the issues surrounding Dembele. He said:

"While Dembélé is at Barça he has to play, we are not here to give educational lessons and he is going to play the same. Having him and not putting him on is cuckolded and beaten."

Dembele was reported to have made up his mind to join another club. But he also rejected a leave offer from the Spanish club on the last day of the winter transfer window.

The club was aware of interest from different European clubs, including the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham Hotspur. But Dembele rejected the offers and decided to stay in Spain for the rest of the season.

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Barcelona announce the jersey number for their new signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Barcelona have officially announced the signing of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Arsenal. Aubameyang's former club, Arsenal, had to terminate his contract in order to complete his departure from England. The Spanish club have also announced the jersey number they will be handing over to the Gabonese international.

Aubameyang has been officially given jersey number 25 at Camp Nou despite the number being reserved for the goalkeeper. However, after the departure of Inaki Pena from the club, the 25 jersey number was up for grabs.

Manager Xavi Hernandez has managed to bring reinforcements into the team during the recently concluded winter transfer window. The Catalan club signed Adama Traore from Wolverhampton Wanderers, Ferran Torres from Manchester City and Aubameyang from Arsenal.

Xavi has a tough task at hand as his club struggles to perform consistently in the top tier Spanish league. They have already crashed out of the Champions League this season and both the domestic cups. They could miss out on direct qualification for next season as well if they fail to finish in the top four positions in the league.