France international Dembele, 20, arrives to fill the void left by Neymar’s world-record €222 million departure to Paris Saint-Germain and is reported to have cost an initial €120m, with a further €30m in potential add-ons.
Dortmund suspended Dembele indefinitely earlier this month after he missed training amid interest from Barcelona, but the Bundesliga club continued to insist that he would only be allowed to leave if the La Liga club met their demands.
The final breakthrough was made on Thursday when Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke and sporting director Michael Zorc met with Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu, sporting executive Oscar Grau and director Raul Sanllehi during the Champions League draw in Monaco.
Last year, Dortmund saw off competition from clubs including Barcelona, Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal and Bayern Munich to sign Dembele from Rennes for a reported €15m fee.
German outlet Kicker has previously reported that Rennes will receive a windfall of €20m from any fee exceeding €80m.
Dembele scored 10 goals and provided 21 assists in the last season but had expressed disappointment at the departure of coach Thomas Tuchel. “Thomas has always been there for me and taught me a lot,” Dembele told Sky Germany in June. “He’s a very good coach with whom I had a lot of great moments.”
Tuchel primarily used Dembele on the wing but occasionally operated in a more central role to bring an element of surprise to Dortmund’s build-up play, carrying the ball into the final third and creating space.
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