MUNICH (AP) — Ousmane Dembélé has never been a Ballon d’Or contender.
Until this season.
The tipping point could come on Saturday night if Dembélé leads Paris Saint-Germain to its first Champions League title.
Few people could have imagined at the start of the season matching Dembélé with the annual award for the world’s best footballer.
Dembélé has always had explosive raw talent. But he showed it only in bursts in an underwhelming six-year spell at Barcelona. That was followed by three goals in 26 Ligue 1 games for PSG last season.
This season has seen a major transformation.
Dembélé finished Ligue 1 with 21 goals as PSG wrapped up another title. He also chipped in eight in the Champions League to give PSG a second ever shot at the European crown. PSG plays Inter Milan in the final in Munich on Saturday.
PSG coach Luis Enrique is credited with finally getting Dembélé to live up to his potential.
“Dembélé has been one of the best players of the season, if not the best one. He scores, he passes, he fights, he defends, and that’s the real mentality — that’s a leader,” Enrique said on Friday. “A real leader is the guy who shows with his example the way to go. It’s so nice for me to hear Ousmane, to give him confidence, to develop his qualities.”
Dembélé showcased his qualities when he starred for Borussia Dortmund over one season after joining from Rennes in 2016. He helped Dortmund to third place in the Bundesliga and scored in the final to help win the 2017 German Cup.
That preceded a summer of discontent at Dortmund when Dembélé went on strike to force a transfer to Barcelona. The Catalan club paid 105 million euros (then $125 million) with possible add-ons taking the fee up to 147 million euros for the player.
Unfortunately for Dembélé, he never lived up to that price tag. He was plagued by injuries in his first seasons at Barcelona. Though he won three La Liga titles, he could only ever contribute goals in single digits. Early on, he was accused of being unprofessional as he turned up late for training. He seemed to drift through games.
Dembélé eventually consolidated himself as one of Barça’s key players thanks to his speed and playmaking. But the club was forced to accept a 50-million-euros transfer fee from PSG when he exercised a buyout clause in his contract to leave in 2023.
Dembélé found it hard to shine in his first season in Paris, where Kylian Mbappé was the undisputed team star.
But when Mbappé left for Real Madrid in the offseason, an opening was presented for Dembélé. However, the new season started as before.
Midseason metamorphosis
Then in December, Dembélé scored in a 3-1 win over Lyon. He followed with 10 goals in his next five Ligue 1 games, took a break for one game, then scored five in his next four.
It was a similar tale in the Champions League. Dembélé was sent off in November when PSG lost at Bayern Munich 1-0. He returned a different player, scoring as PSG came from two goals down to beat Manchester City 4-2, then grabbing a hat trick against Stuttgart, then two more goals at Stade Brest.
“I’ve been able to kick things up a notch. The team has also been able to up the ante,” Dembélé said. “I’m delighted with everything that we’ve done to get here … especially since January, we really had a change of mindset.”
He scored or set up a teammate in each of his last five Champions League appearances as PSG saw off Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal to reach the final.
Who’s that player?
Dembélé said a difference-maker was a good talk with Luis Enrique when he took over the team in 2023. He felt trust from the Spanish coach to play in the central No. 9 position.
“It’s a position that I enjoy playing,” Dembélé said. “It’s about creating uncertainty for the opponent. Sometimes you can be in front of the defensive line. Sometimes you’re playing behind them. Sometimes it’s just about driving them crazy, really.”
Inter has been warned.
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