A comeback? After a month of January when he was dismissed from FC Barcelona because he (still) did not want to extend his contract which ends next June, the tricolor world champion Ousmane Dembélé made a remarkable return to Camp Nou this Thursday against Naples (1-1) in the first leg of the knockout phase of the Europa League. Entering the game under a rain of whistles in the 65th minute in place of Adama Traoré, the 24-year-old former Rennes and Dortmund striker showed all his talent by delighting the public with several technical gestures and a few raids alone.
He even almost delivered a decisive pass at the end of the game. A performance that brings hope for the Frenchman who hopes to find a starting place during this second part of the season. These last 25 minutes have given Barça coach Xavi a lot more, disappointed by the attitude of the public at the time of the change.
“The public did not listen to me”
The former midfielder also wanted to support his player after the match. “The public did not listen to me, they are sovereign, he declared. But Ousmane succeeded in dribbling, he was behind an action that almost ended in goal… He has character. And the whistles turned into applause. I think that’s the thing to remember.”
A speech that contrasts with that of last month when Xavi had shown his extreme annoyance by stressing that the French international winger had to “extend his contract” or “leave the club”. “We are in a complicated and difficult situation. The club has decided that if he does not extend, we will have to make a decision with him,” he insisted.
Barça sporting director Mateu Alemany was even firmer by asking his player, who has six months left on his contract, to pack his bags and leave Catalonia before the end of the month and the winter transfer window. . But no club has paid the €20m transfer fee to recruit the international striker (27 caps, 4 goals). Faced with the situation of FC Barcelona (currently 4th) whose place for the next Champions League is threatened, the club has therefore finally decided to reintegrate it into the group after having dismissed it in January.
French international winger Ousmane Dembélé returned to the FC Barcelona group on February 6 for the 23rd day of La Liga against Atlético Madrid (4-2) but he did not come into play unlike the Barcelona derby on Sunday. last at Espanyol (2-2) where he replaced Jordi Alba 18 minutes from the end.