Barcelona manager Xavi has played down abuse received by Blaugrana winger Ousmane Dembele.
The Frenchman featured off the bench in Barca's Europa League first-leg clash with Napoli, and he was the target of boos and jeers from the home crowd following his failed contract talks with the club.
Xavi was quick to plead with the fans, and stated after the game: "The crowd didn't listen to me. But in the end it turned into applause. Now we have whistled him and that's it. It's over. The news is that the whistles have turned into applause," as quoted by Daily Mail.
The Spanish giants ended up playing out a 1-1 draw on home turf, thanks to Ferran Torres's equaliser from the penalty spot, with the attacker making his first appearance for the club since early January after ongoing injury issues over the course of the season.
Dembele, who arrived in Catalonia from Borussia Dortmund in 2017, sees his current Barca deal expire in the summer, and, with the two parties failing to agree a contract extension, he is set to depart at the end of the current campaign, having featured just 13 times across all competitions so far this term.
Following that £126m switch, the 24-year-old has made 133 appearances for Barcelona, netting 31 goals and providing 23 assists in that time, with the likes of Chelsea now said to be among the clubs considering a pre-contract approach ahead of his expiry.
Sam Varley
