Barcelona, the second Spanish football league, announced on Thursday that it signed a contract with Leganes striker, Danish international Martin Braithwaite, until June 2024,
as an exceptional substitute for injured French league striker Othmane Dembele, and Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez.
Barcelona said in a statement: “The player will sign a contract with the club for the remainder of the season with 4 additional years until June 30, 2024, with a penalty clause of 300 million euros.”
He added: “Barcelona paid the penalty clause in the player’s contract of 18 million euros,
and it will be presented to the media Thursday evening, starting at 17:00 GMT at the Camp Nou.”
And the new Barcelona coach, Kiki Sitten, wishes to rely on Braithwaite (7 goals in 39 international matches) at the end of this week when the Catalan club hosts Ibar,
sixteenth, at the Camp Nou in the twenty-fifth stage, before heading to Italy to face Naples next Tuesday,
The first leg of the Champions League competition.
Barcelona got the green light to sign a striker instead of injured player Dembele,
based on a clause in the tournament laws that allows the team to do so for compelling medical reasons.
The contract with the Danish striker caused a mockery to the fans of the club,
because of the modest record of the scoring player in the Spanish league, where he scored only 6 goals from 24 games.
As for the last season, he scored only 4 goals in the second half of the season,
after moving from Middlesboro English in the first place, in January 2019.
Dembele will be out of action for six months because of a cut in his right thigh tendon,
who underwent surgery, and thus will not participate in the European Cup finals, scheduled from June 12 to July 12 next.
Dembele’s absence coincides with Barcelona’s lack of services for his other Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez,
who last January underwent surgery on the right knee and is expected to be absent 4 months.
