Dembele is a better player than Mbappe, claims Laporta

Dembele is in the final six months of his Camp Nou contract and is yet to renew with Los Blaugrana.

It is almost pointless to talk about the financial problems at Camp Nou. Despite the much talked about issues, the Catalans have been able to bring in some quality signings since Joan Laporta took over for his second spell. The club has been able to sign Ferran Torres, Adama Traore and also complete a deadline day move for Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang.

The signings came in the January transfer window and are no pushovers. It has given the Catalan giants belief that they could still make it into the top four. Xavi has done a decent job since he took over from Ronald Koeman, but the former Barca midfielder still has his work cut out.

While Xavi tries to get Barcelona back to Champions League places, the club president has stoked another controversy. Joan Laporta has boldly claimed that Ousmane Dembele is a better player than Kylian Mbappe.

Bold claims from Barca president

Ousmane Dembele is a huge money signing for Barcelona. He has been at the club for a little over four years. The French forward has had a patchy form for Barcelona, but the club president is adamant about his abilities.

Joan Laporta has boldly claimed that Ousmane Dembele is a better player than Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe.

Laporta is not a man to hold his thoughts, and in December 2021, he was vocal about his belief in Dembele when he stoked controversy by claiming that the Barcelona forward is better than Mbappe. At the press conference for Adama Traore, as quoted by Daily Mail, Laporta reiterated his thoughts when talks of Dembele came up.

At Borussia Dortmund, the 24-year-old showed a lot of potentials, which convinced Barcelona to pay a king's ransom to bring him to the Nou Camp. Dembele joined Barcelona on 25 August 2017 for a €105 million fee, plus a reported €40 million add-ons.

Dembele is yet to reach his full potential with injury to his bane, but Laporta believes that Barcelona has the better player between the two.

Laporta convinced of Dembele, but Mbappe far ahead

While Laporta is busy waxing lyrical about Dembele’s talent, Kylian Mbappe has continued to grow in leaps and bounds. Recently, German publication BILD revealed that Mbappe had agreed to join Real Madrid as a free agent in the summer.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward has been mentioned in the same breath as the elite in the game, while Dembele struggles to stay fit for Barcelona. Mbappe has been likened to Ronaldo and compared with Robert Lewandowski, Erling Haaland and Karim Benzema.

Despite the strides Mbappe has made, Joan Laporta insists that he is inferior in talent to Dembele. He said he does not regret the claim and stands by it. According to Laporta, that is why they made Dembele a good renewal offer.

Laporta said the club was keen to keep Dembele and hopes he signs the renewal offer made to him. Dembele is in the final six months of his contract at the Nou Camp and has not signed the renewal offer.