Barcelona’s victory over Real Sociedad at the Anoeta stadium was filled with a lot of positives on so many fronts as it meant the team broke a 10-year curse, maintained their lead at the top and also move 19 points clear Real Madrid.

But on a less than happy side of things, Ousmane Dembele picked up another injury.

The attacker had only just returned from a lengthy hamstring injury and has now been ruled out for around four weeks. His most recent injury was on his left hamstring, but the club maintained it didn’t affect the area he underwent surgery on last year.

There is absolutely nothing positive on Dembele’s injury on a sporting and psychological level, but there’s a reason to smile about if you look at it from a financial perspective.

A detailed report via Mundo Deportivo, has revealed that Barcelona could save as much as €5 million on Dembele. It all relates to payments the club were expected to pay Borussia Dortmund for Dembele.

Both clubs agree a €145million deal for the Frenchman, and out of that figure only €105 was a fixed guaranteed sum, with the other €40 million expected to be earned through variables.

One of those variables is an estimated €5 million for Dortmund if Dembele plays his first 25 matches for Barcelona.

To date, Dembele has played only 7 matches (141 minutes) due to injuries and missed out on 20 matches after his injury against Getafe last September.

He must play a minimum of 45 minutes in a game for it to count and he has done so on only three occasion.

As things stand now, on his return from injury, it could be impossible for him to reach the target of 25 official matches. But this doesn’t mean the €5 million would be waved off, rather, Barcelona would only save and avoid paying it this season until the next season.

Dembele can still play 25 games if Barcelona reaches the finals of the Champions League and Copa del Rey.