Barcelona chief's ludicrous Kylian Mbappe claim doesn't add up with transfer stance

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has doubled down on his outlandish claim that Ousmane Dembele is better than Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe, despite wanting to get rid of him.

Laporta has previously gone on the record to say he rates Dembele more highly than Mbappe, who is tipped to be a future Ballon d'Or winner and has already been the hero of a World Cup -winning team.

Yet the Barca chief and his fellow board members spent the last 10 days of the January transfer window trying to ship the 24-year-old out of the Camp Nou after Dembele rejected a new contract.

"I still think that Dembele is better than Mbappe," Laporta affirmed after the window slammed shut. "I don't regret having said it because we are convinced of his talent."

That was after the president, elected 10 months ago for a second spell in charge, had claimed in December: "We also want him to stay because he is a great player.

"There are required situations in a negotiation with the representatives that they want the best for the player. For me, Dembele excites me, he is better than Mbappe."

Dembele's deal expires at the end of the season, meaning the France international will leave for free in the summer window and give Barcelona no return on their £135.5million investment.

While French compatriot Mbappe - also out of contract with PSG in June - has been far and away the better player since he burst onto the scene with Monaco in 2017, Dembele was, at that time, enjoying an explosive start to life at Borussia Dortmund, where he spent just one season.

But since his days as a Blaugrana player began, a raft of injuries and instability at the club have blighted his career, with rumours of an attitude problem persistently doing the rounds every