Ousmane Dembele has developed into one of the most important components of Xavi Hernandez’s Barcelona system, and it appeared as though he would continue to remain with the club for an extended period of time.
The French winger, who was on the verge of leaving the club in 2022, had enjoyed the faith of the boss and was displaying his best performances while wearing the Blaugrana colors during the previous campaign.
Despite the fact that contract negotiations were going on in the background, everything appeared to be in place for Dembele to continue his success at Barcelona under Xavi’s tutelage.
Nevertheless, out of the blue, Paris Saint-Germain made an approach for the striker during the summer transfer window, and Dembele, despite having previously declared that he was not considering leaving, was pleased to jump ship. The move occurred during the summer transfer window.
Dembele gives his explanation for why he moved to PSG from Barcelona.
Now, Dembele has clarified in an interview he gave to L’Equipe (h/t SPORT) that after having contacts with PSG, he had already made up his mind and intended to return to his homeland, a move that he does not regret making.
“Indeed, I said that I would stay at Barcelona, but after contacts with PSG I was convinced to leave,” he remarked.
“Kylian did not make an effort to persuade me; I traveled all the way to Paris because I adore the club, which is located in France and which I adore. I am originally from Evreux, which is located nearby. Paris Saint-Germain is a topic of conversation among all of the locals. It was predetermined that I would join this group someday in the future.
When asked if it was easy for him to decide to leave Barcelona, especially after he had enjoyed his best period of his career at the club, the French international player responded: “Of course not.”
“I have a lot of friends who are club followers, and they have consistently tried to persuade me to come here. Was it simple to decide after spending the happiest months of my life in Barcelona? I was hoping to get a contract with PSG.”
Having difficulty at PSG
Dembele moved from Barcelona to PSG in a transaction of 50.4 million euros, but he has struggled to establish himself with his new club since making the move.
In point of fact, the 26-year-old player has not scored a single goal in any of his 13 games played across all competitions, and he has only three assists to his name.
“I don’t evaluate how well I’ve performed based on the number of goals I score. “You can score a goal and play a bad game, and you can not score and still be very good,” Dembele remarked of his start in Paris on his play. “You can score and still be very good.”
“I am going to work on my statistics. I have no trouble falling asleep and I have complete faith in myself. Even when things don’t go as planned, I give it another shot
.