Dembele shines in Barcelona for these reasons

After being spared from injuries in the recent period and gaining the confidence of coach Xavi Hernandez, French winger Ousmane Dembele has become an essential element in Barcelona's squad aspiring to embrace the La Liga and Champions League titles once again.

The Catalan club is preparing to face its Italian host Inter in Milan on Tuesday in the third round of the group stage of the continental championship, in a match during which Dembele will seek to prove his height and lead his team to victory.

"I lost a lot of time since 2017 until now," he said nearly two weeks ago in an interview with RMC radio on the sidelines of his return to the French national team for the first time since June last year.

After behavioral problems following his arrival to Barcelona in 2017 (for 125 million euros from Borussia Dortmund) and then frequent leg injuries, the 25-year-old changed his lifestyle for the better and strengthened his muscles to leave those bad memories behind.

He got back on track with former Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman last year after sustaining a severe injury in the European Cup 2021 against Hungary (in the biceps tendon in the right knee), and found refuge with Xavi at Barcelona.

The Catalan club legend even convinced him to stay when negotiations over his contract extension seemed stalled, to the point that Barcelona even tried to push Dempuz to leave the Camp Nou last January.

healing confidence

Speaking to RMC ahead of the UEFA Nations League matches, Dembele confirmed, "I always told Xavi that I wanted to stay at the club. After that, there were negotiations (...) but with Xavi's confidence, I had to stay. I feel comfortable in the dressing room, with all these guys, with the whole team. I've been feeling this good for six years."

He added, "My dream is to win the Champions League with Barcelona," who rose last weekend to the top of the Spanish League for the first time in nearly two years.

Now, Dembele has forgotten about the long negotiations to extend his contract and the decision of Xavi and President Joan Laporta to keep him out of the group for some time due to the salary terms demanded by his agents.

The former midfielder quickly brought him back to the heart of the team and bowed before his obvious talent.

Here he is in the starting line-up, despite the reinforcements in attack that arrived in January (the Gabonese Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who left this summer for Chelsea) or in the recent transfer market with Brazilian Rafinha and Poland's Robert Lewandowski, both of whom are essential in the squad.

I suffered a lot

Dembele, the best passer in La Liga last season, played a key role in eight of Barcelona's nine matches so far this season in all competitions, during which he scored two goals in addition to four assists.

Having become a father after his wife gave birth to their daughter on the night of 16-17 September, Dembele insisted on playing the match against Elche the following day that Barcelona won 3-0, in clear evidence of his commitment to Xavi and his team.

Since the trip to Munich (2-0 defeat against Bayern in the Champions League), calf pains have prevented him from being in top form in recent matches in the Spanish League and during the international window where he played only 11 minutes against Austria in the European Nations League with France while Missed the Denmark meeting.

He confirms that he wants to "be decisive, but above all to perform well in the important matches of the Champions League" as he will have the opportunity against Inter, a few weeks before the start of the World Cup in Qatar (November 20 to December 18).

According to the Catalan press, the club is looking to extend his contract.

His release is worth only 50 million euros, and despite Barcelona's financial difficulties, it makes sense that he would want to amend the terms of his contract in order to secure the services of his winger over the next few seasons.

He concluded in his interview with the radio, "I have suffered a lot over the past five years. But now everyone talks to me about football, and it is much better."

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