Ousmane Dembele is a curious case for Barcelona. The Frenchman signed for a record amount of fee for the Blaugranas in 2018. He was deemed to be the successor of Brazilian Neymar at Barcelona. But the Frenchman never sailed the heights he was expected to. Injuries, immaturity, and future speculation all took a big toll on him. Fans were growing increasingly frustrated with his carefree attitude and how he was not worth the money Barcelona paid for him. Dembele despite signing a 5-year contract, only played for 2 years as the other 3 were mostly spent in injuries.
But the Dembele saga seems to have turned by its head. Under Xavi, Dembele seems to have found his best-ever form for Barcelona. The 25-year-old is terrorizing defenses in La Liga and Europe. Moreover, he is staying injury free and getting the continuity and results in everyone expected of him. The contract situation surrounding him was also very tense for quite a long time. But Dembele’s intention was to always stay at Barcelona and in the end, that happened to be the case. The Frenchman signed an extension for 2 years, staying until 2024.
“There was no pre-agreement with another club. I only spoke with Barca. And I told my representative only Barca and in the end we are all happy. Since Xavi arrived, I have lived my best moments at Barça. For me, or for the other wingers, his way of seeing football suits us very well. The relationship with Xavi is very good, he has always told me the truth, he supports me a lot and I am happy.”,
Dembele said.
It is no surprise that Dembele is performing so well under Xavi. The major changes in routine and diet with intense training has given Dembele a lot of hope.
Is this Dembele’s time at Barcelona to step up?
Dembele’s season has kicked off in fine form. He forms a lethal partnership with Lewandowski and Raphinha. The Frenchman has already scored once and assisted twice for the Blaugranas. It is high time that Dembele now steps up even more. He can easily be the best in the world working on some aspects of his game. With guidance from someone like Xavi, it won’t take long for him to achieve brilliant numbers in goals.
It finally feels that Barcelona have a worthy squad with world-class players. It might just be the time when trophies return to Camp Nou. But the likes of Ousmane and Lewy have to be in fine form. Barcelona kicks off their UCL journey against Viktoria Plzen at Camp Nou. They will be looking to make a statement in Europe that it is time that they are among the bests once again.
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