Eventually, Barça will end up wondering if the 2017 comeback was worth it. Six years that the Blaugranas have suffered a dictatorship of karma led by millions by Paris Saint-Germain. First Neymar, 222 plates to blow up the clause, the bank, the transfer market and the nerves of the Catalan leaders. Panicked, the latter will use the loot badly: more than half (127 million euros) will go to Borussia Dortmund (and a little to Rennes) for the transfer of Ousmane Dembélé. The beginning of a mediocre sports policy that will lead to debt up to your neck, and the free departure of Messi in 2021… in Paris.
Two years later, the height of relentlessness, PSG embarked on a new robbery of the Camp Nou supermarket, whose shelves are however desperately empty, and left with Dembélé. A deal at 50 million euros, of which Barça will only receive half, the result of a clause activated at the buzzer by Paris and the existence of which will one day have to be questioned. Joan Laporta no longer knows who to blame. First Paris, then the player and his representatives. On good terms with the Culés, whom he did not want to offend when he left, the former Rennais would have preferred the terms of the contract: the remaining 25 million will be for him and his representatives according to the Iberian narration. In retaliation, his former club dragged out negotiations, but here we are. Ousmane Dembélé is a five-year Paris Saint-Germain player.
Let Barcelona be reassured, the curse of Paris rarely exceeds the euphoria of the transfer window. Neymar has certainly lifted the Parc des Princes many times, his image has finally deteriorated – sometimes unfairly – as his level at Counter-Strike progressed. Here he is today led to the exit. For Messi, it was a mixture of complicated adaptation, misunderstanding and then I don’t care. Everyone seems to believe that Dembélé will follow in the footsteps of his illustrious elders on the soapy highway that is Paname. Except us. Since we have to believe in something, for once we are putting our bad faith at the service of optimism by explaining why Ousmane Dembélé is not going to flop in Paris.
A good deal
It’s important enough to be highlighted in fluorescent pink: for once, PSG are not being suckered into buying. 50 million for a player bought more than double, and whose market value is estimated at 60 million (by Transfermarkt), it’s pretty good. On the Ugarte scale, it’s downright a pittance. Between the lines, the little pleasure of making Catalonia angry, where we have gone so far as speak of “war” between Paris and Barcelona, at the end of July. The case is however not so bad for the Iberian club, which strengthens its nest egg while Dembélé could very well have gone free next summer. Not sure, however, that this is enough to make a decent offer to replace “Dembouz” with Bernardo Silva.
Xavi only says good things about it
The former Spanish midfielder is a demanding coach, with very divisive postures. If he once thought of Kylian Mbappé that he was “more physical than talented”, Xavi on the other hand never doubted Ousmane Dembélé. “I have already said many times that, for me, he has the potential to be the best in the world in his position, declared the Barça coach after the 3-0 victory against Real Madrid at the highest of the pre-season. I said it during my presentation and I repeat it today: it is essential for me. It makes one-on-one differences. I trust him and he responds to that trust. “In his time, Messi had also had a comparable approach, taking the former Rennais under his wing.
Xavi, who finally said he was “disappointed” with the decision taken by his now ex-player, had also organized several meetings with the Frenchman at the end of July, in order to convince him to stay. In vain. We have seen worse in the quality guarantee genre, and it is difficult to prove the Catalan coach wrong. It is in any case a profile, which, intrinsically, will not harm a blunt PSG during preparation matches, both on rapid transition and against more compact blocks, in the absence of Kylian Mbappé, whose we do not know if he will play again one day with the red and blue jersey.
Ousmane has grown and gets injured less
But it took Xavi pulling his ears to accelerate his growth. Today, the meme “Dembélé: 11 minutos tarde” (“Dembele 11 minutes late [à l’entraînement] ”) is now just ancient history. It will be remembered, however, that his last punctuality fault of three minutes, at the end of 2021, will have earned him the first fine of the Xavi era. Since then, it’s been going straight. Insofar as we do not imagine Luis Enrique as a lax character at all, there is not really any reason for Ousmane to fall back into his failings.
The overall idea is that of a maturity symbolized by paternity. Dembélé became a dad at 25 (he is now 26) and seems to have less latitude to do anything. “I am more responsible, more mature, I am no longer 19-20 years old”, he swore at the start of the 2022 World Cup. We mentioned it in Qatar, his approach to the profession has become more professional, which allowed him to reduce injuries significantly. He has not been sidelined from 2021 to the end of January 2023 (hamstring injury in both cases). Like any player of his size, the winger has now been accompanied for three years by a physical trainer and a physiotherapist. The latter is based in Paris. Perfect for logistics and tracking.
At least we’ll have fun
And if, in the end, Ousmane Dembélé was not the quintessence of what constitutes Paris Saint-Germain, the famous DNA, namely burlesque. After re-re-reviewing his funniest moments from Stade Rennais to Barcelona via Dortmund and the Blues, we are able to say that no other player can sit at the table of the French international when it comes to humor. Among his greatest hits? “Quiet about what you? “, “I really liked Lilian Thuram and the other, the goalkeeper”, “el trafico” or even “the cap” made a whole generation cry with laughter. If Luis Enrique does not know what to do with him, the PSG community manager will know how to get the best out of Dembélé.