Paris Saint-Germain star Ousmane Dembélé spoke about the reason for his sudden departure from Barcelona last summer.
Dembele explained in statements to the newspaper L’Equipe, “In fact, I said that I would stay in Barcelona, but after communicating with Paris, I was convinced of the necessity of leaving.”
He added, “Mbappe did not try to convince me. I came to Paris because I love the club. Saint-Germain is a French team and I love that.”
The French player noted, “I am from Évreux, which is not far from here, and everyone talks about Paris Saint-Germain.”
He continued, “I have many friends and fans who always tried to convince me to join Paris and leave Barcelona.”
Dembele said, “I do not evaluate my level with Paris based on the goals he scored. You can score and play poorly, or you can not score and play well.”
The French player stressed that he was not affected by the criticism directed at him after he failed to score during his first 13 matches with Paris Saint-Germain.
He added, “I sleep well at night and I always trust myself. Even when things don’t go well, I try again.”
Regarding his coach, Luis Enrique, he commented, “We have known each other for a long time. He wanted to bring me to Barcelona when I was in Rennes, and I told him that I would sign with Dortmund.”
He added, “Enrique talks a lot with the players. He treats us very calmly. He is very simple and initiates jokes, but he completely changes when he becomes serious.”
He concluded, “We in Paris are not obsessed with the Champions League. It is not the main goal of the French team.”
