Ousmane Dembele has further provoked his employers at Barcelona, after the forward missed an important medical check-up on his left leg on Saturday before suffering an injury that is set to keep him out for five weeks.
The absence was the latest in a series of misdemeanours from the Frenchman since he joined the club, raising doubts as to whether his commitment can be fixed.
Dembele, 22, joined Barcelona from Borussia Dortmund in 2017 for an initial fee of 105 million euros rising to nearly 150 million euros in add-ons.
Barcelona were particularly concerned by Dembele's latest no-show, given his importance to the first team amid injuries to fellow forwards Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.
In his two years with the Blaugrana, Dembele has been guilty of missing training and abandoning the required diet, amongst other objections against what is expected of players.
Dembele, who was part of the team's 1-0 defeat away to Athletic Club in opening LaLiga Santander match of the season, has been sanctioned for his behaviour in the past.
Barcelona were aware of Dembele's character but have struggled to deal with the player's lack of discipline at times.
Last season, club legend Guillermo Amor, also the director of institutional and sporting relations of the first team, feared the winger's attitude was unchangeable and the Frenchman's latest antics is beginning to be shared by others at the club.
Longlife2000
43
Dembele went to Senegal after the loss vs Athletic and Suarez went to Morocco. Both injured and out for weeks. Irresponsible, both of them. The players are off the rails, doing whatever they want, there’s no leadership at the club anymore, no respect for the coach. Outrageous. I have been defending him since the start but this is it for me. I have never wished for my club to lose a football match, but it’s being hard not to, because we might throw the entire season if it keeps going like this. There’s a deep need of a complete meltdown with half a dozen losses to get him out immediately. In 2019 alone: -Arthur went to Neymar's birthday party against the club's wishes. -Umtiti refused to have surgery on his knee. -Rakitic went partying in a fair at Sevilla in the day after the 4-0 at Anfield. -Alba said the players deserve more respect for what they did... after suffering the worst humiliation in the club's history. -Suárez, Messi and other players came out and not only endorsed Valverde, but pressed the club to keep him. What a disgrace. The players are out of control, there's no authority at the club anymore....