Ousmane Dembele reveals he rejected PSG before signing for Barcelona

David Cooper - Writer 11:21 08/03/2018
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  • Barcelona star Ousmane Dembele

    Ousmane Dembele turned down the overtures of Paris Saint-Germain before joining Barcelona last summer.

    Dembele has had a rough start to his Blaugrana career with serious hamstring injuries wrecking his debut campaign in Spain.

    The 20-year-old is back to full fitness but remained on the bench in Sunday’s defeat of Atletico Madrid.

    However, he was in the starting XI for the Supercopa de Catalunya clash with Espanyol on Wednesday night and showed glimpses of what he can offer with his blurring speed giving his side attacking thrust.

    The €147million deal to take Dembele from Borussia Dortmund has weighed heavy on the Frenchman’s young shoulders but the pressure could have been emanating from Paris had the Ligue 1 giants got their way.

    “I met [PSG president] Nasser [Al-Khelaifi],” Dembele told Onze Mondial (h/t ESPN). “We had set up a meeting. It went really well. He’s a great president.

    “What struck me about him is that he is very humble, he’s calm – I had never seen that. Honestly, he’s a good guy.”

    Dembele also defended the nature of his controversial Dortmund exit. The winger went on strike to force through his move to Camp Nou after a stand-off with the club and he said: “I had the impression I was missing out on my dream.

    “I had the reaction that I had, I totally accept that.

    “What did you want me to do? That I say ‘no’ to Barcelona a second time? That was impossible for me.

    “I’m at a crazy club here, alongside the best. Every year, the club’s in the Champions League semifinals or the final.

    “I would like to see how the people who criticised me would have reacted if they had been in my position.”

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