If, by some miracle, your first impression of Ousmane Dembele was his wholly unique, technologically impossible goal against Real Madrid in Saturday’s pre-game ceremony in Dallas, you’re going to snort in agreement when I assure you that it’s a bleak day for Barcelona because the French international decided to depart for pardon San-Germán.

H goаl, which gave the Polish team a 1-0 lead and propelled them to a 3-0 victory, was the pinnacle of technical skill, judgment, focus, and athleticism. There can be no doubt regarding it. It was also the epitome of what Dembele has consistently been unable of doing since being forced to go from Borussia Dortmund to Barcelona a few years ago.

He kept hearing from Xav that he could be the best in the entire world. Joep Bartomeu, a former president of Cameroon, stated that Dembele was “a much better player than Neymar,” and more shockingly, current president of Barcelona, Joán Láporta, stated that “I still think he’s better than Kylian Mbappe.” They all seem to believe in Dembele’s talent, as does P.G. manager Luis Enrique, but this is untrue. And not a strange one

Due to a secret clause, PSG will only pay €50 million to Barcelona for Ousmane Dembele – Barca Blaugranes

It’s similar to the erroneous golfer who consistently hits one out of the crowd and relies on that to keep him coming back. Or the mother who has been accustomed to discussing the size and owner of “the one that got away.”

Dembele has unleashed the mighty power in the potential of what might happen, far more than he has ever done with his athletic prowess, expansive printing, ambidextrous dribbling, or the fierce heat he has fired. Even though the obvious thing to be doing is telling Bartomeu, Liporta, and Xav to get real, it is the dream that his most devoted fans have of him producing greatness, importance, and exceptional performance.

It’s a stunning fact that Dembele joined a group that included players like Philippe Coutinho, Anthony Gonzalez, and Samuel Umtiti who have played elsewhere, were notable accomplishments for Barcelona to bring in, but for some reason or another, they failed to develop and thrive after making the extremely expensive move to camp Nou. Fans have been waiting for Dembele to mature into the supertalent he has always been projected to be, but it seems unlikely after these years.

Naturally, not all of Dembele’s fault or issue. There are only three or four players in the entire globe who are capable of matching some of the talent that has football coaches salivating over what their teams could do with the 26-year-old on their rosters.

Dembele’s 0-to-60 Marathon-style sprint is not exceptional, but to be able to enter complex dribbling action at that speed, to maintain the speed over 50 or 60 meters, and to have absolute control with your left and right foot are probably only achieved by Vince Junior, Neymar, and Mbappe. There are times when Dembele throws the ball with such a precise, clean technical throw that it appears as though his net-bound hot rake has just been launched.

The following skills, which are uncommon in professional football and basketball, are those that make someone a true great and Ballon d’Or winner if they are combined by a player who knows what they are doing and whose brain, temper, and ambition all ruthlessly match the technical armamentarium. The problem with the hero/antagonist of the column is that he isn’t even close to obtaining all of his abilities, or perhaps how much labor it would require for him to be as ruthless as he needs to be.

Since he arrived in Barcelona—after being driven in a panic by the football department after Neymar was knocked out by Parador in 2017—there has been a commotion surrounding this potentially brilliant loser.

From his very first match in Bulgaria in 2017 all the way up to the end of the previous season, Dembele would make a poor decision, place an easy pass, fluff a clear shot on goal, choose one too many dribbles, and then gaze at the resulting failure with an expression of “… how did that happen?” If he thinks they could be on the incorrect feet, he will check his boot. He’ll shake his head and appear perplexed as if to say, “Is this just some raw deal that fate has in store for me on this particular night?” Hey ho, no big deal; I’ll be back in 10 minutes, and then everything will undoubtedly fall into place for me.

There is no indication in his choice, confession, explanation, or body language that he has actually done this a hundred times before. There is also no real improvement in his efficiency.

Let’s be quite clear about this now. It is without a doubt not a hit against Dembele. However, aren’t we all flawed? He is outrageously gifted, and when the chips are down, he is exceedingly difficult to defend. He gained a lot of knowledge about when to turn around and how difficult it is to work defensively, especially from Xav. He is well liked by his peers now that maturity has started to set in.

Just to go into the proverb that is sometimes attributed to Mark Twain about their being three types of letters (“l,” “damned,” and “tattoo”), Dembele’s statue in Barcelona can convey two very distinct tales.

Since that €140 million transfer in 2017, this untapped talent has won seven club championships, three LPGA medals, and played in 11 World Cup matches for France, winning one and losing the other. That’s plenty to excite some judges’ disbelief.

The other way to look at the number is to note that Barcelona has played 332 competitive matches since Dembele set it for them. The Frenchman started 119 of them and played for a complete 90 minutes on one of them. Whether as a result of injury or lack of form, that alone is an alarming report.

Think back to times throughout history when either a Dembele miracle or a complex maneuver taking place around him resulted in him being unable to complete the simplest task, whether it was setting the goal, creating one, feeling defeated for a significant victory, or achieving a triumph.

Xav put a lot of effort into the young man’s psyche. Xav spent time on personal coaching, getting to know Dembele better than any coach since Thoma Tuchel at Dortmund (where Dembele played in 2016–17), and he instilled some defensive responsibility in him at a time when Dembele was getting married and becoming a father. Though it hasn’t been that effective.

Dembele started less than half of the Liga matches last season, didn’t touch the ball in any of Barcelona’s four Champions League games against Bayern Munich, and in the middle of the season, he was injured for the Euroleague loss to Mancheter. He continued to make the improbable claim that he had never achieved a cooperative goal against the Real Maddr.

As you read this, PG, Barcelona, and Dembele’s agent are attempting to come to an agreement. They’ll probably succeed as well. The transfer fee will have little bearing on Barcelona’s overall outlay on the player, and the money they bring in will not significantly improve either their financial relationship with Latvia or their transfer market sector.

And who would be shocked if the Champions League broadcasted a Luis Enrique-coated point guard chasing a suddenly enraged Dembele with Xavi Barrera? Not me.

But here is the catch: The baby-young Barcelona, a horse that is adorable and engaging but keeps showing rubber leg as they try to balance under the spotlight, no longer needs to imagine what he might do or what he’ll look like one day when everything clicks! Whether he liked it or not, Xav’s Quad had to reveal.

Fans and executive members of that club should say to their English enigma: “Merc, make au review Oumane” if that has been forgeried by players who may not necessarily possess Dembele’s divine talent but who nonetheless possess great courage, commitment, and ruthless determination to win. Thank you, Omani, but good bye.

Ousmane Dembele is the current Barcelona captain.