Like a Phoenix bird, Ousmane Dembélé has regenerated from his ashes. With a beginning of the year to forget, the French extreme roller coaster in 2022 comes to an end in Qatar on Sunday. The Barcelona footballer will play the World Cup final against Argentina. Who would say it after starting the year separated by the Barça club for not wanting to renew his contract, which expired on June 30, 2022. In January the situation between him and Xavi broke out: “There are two solutions: either renew or a solution is sought so that he leaves the club. That is the decision we have made.”. To which Mateu Alemany added fuel to the fire: “Eleven days after closing the last term within his contract It seems obvious to us that the player does not want to continue at Barça and is not committed to the club’s future project. In this scenario, he and his representatives have been told that he has to leave immediately. We want committed footballers and we expect a transfer to take place before January 31”. A situation that seemed of no return. “I am not a man to cheat or give in to blackmail”, wielded the French, but the tables turned…
Dembélé did not leave the club and Xavi lifted his veto. He needed it because of the club’s delicate qualifying situation. The winger felt important despite the arrival of Ferran Torres, even so he wanted to listen to offers and he did, but el Mundial de otoño conditions everything. Dembélé wanted to be on Deschamps’ list. He was looking for opportunities and finally, he and his representative Moussa Sissoko agreed to extend the contract until 2024. Dembélé prioritized playing and Xavi convinced him that it was important in his planning. As this season has shown: he has played every game and started all but four of them. A point of form and confidence, which once again dazzled Didier Deschamps so that he returned to the French team (His name had appeared in the Nations League commitments in June, which was a wake-up call from the coach). And the best version of him also appeared under the orders of Xavi,
Gray role in the World Cup
The confidence in Dembélé from minute one in this World Cup has been full. He has played everything, he even jumped onto the field to try to lift the inconsequential 1-0 against Tunisia. A role even much more key than could be supposed. He is not shining in terms of numbers: 0 goals and 2 assists, but he is compromised defensively and is always a threat to the opposite side. Against Argentina, in the final, his work could tip the final towards the side of Blues.
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Dembélé, in which Barça invested €140M from the sale of Neymar for his enormous talent, He has been able to give his football life a huge 180 degree turn… and a necessary one. Now, at the age of 25, he has before him the glory of winning a World Cup, when few already believed in it. In January, Dembélé was a hot potato in Can Barca and now it is a nightmare for the Argentine defense.