Ousmane Dembele: France Star Hails Messi Ahead of World Cup Final

• France winger Ousmane Dembele has revealed his admiration for Argentina captain Lionel Messi
• Dembele and Messi were teammates at Barcelona for four seasons before the latter joined Paris Saint-Germain
• On Sunday, December 18 the pair will put friendship aside to wrestle for football's most coveted international trophy

Ousmane Dembele has showered praise on Lionel Messi ahead of the impending 2022 World Cup final blockbuster between France and Argentina.

While Leo Messi has had a supremely impressive campaign in Qatar, Dembele's performance has slightly been below average for the defending champions.

Hailing the 35-year-old as an 'exceptional' player, Dembele also noted how Messi and Iniesta influenced his love for his current club FC Barcelona.

"He’s an exceptional player, one of those who made me love Barcelona along with Iniesta. I spent four great years with him," Dembele said as quoted by GOAL.

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The Frenchman, who spent four seasons with the Argentine maestro before his departure to Paris Saint-Germain, says Les Bleus must reduce Messi's influence in the game in order to win back-to-back world titles.

"He’s a normal guy in the dressing room, he helps young players. He gave me a lot. He’s difficult to control and we’ll have to do everything we can to make sure he touches the ball as little as possible."

Per Barca Universal, Dembele has a well-documented camaraderie with Messi but would have to put aside their friendship for at least 90 minutes as France seek to defend their World Cup trophy on Sunday.

Dembele's friendship with Messi

The World Cup final will see friends and club teammates face off for the ultimate prize.

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Defending champions France will take on South American champions, Argentina, with both side chasing history.

While much talk has been made about Paris Saint-Germain teammates Messi and Kylian Mbappe facing off against each other, another friendship has gone under the radar.

Dembele's phobia revealed

Sports Brief earlier reported that Barcelona and France winger Ousmane Dembele is one of the best wingers in the world with an immense ability to take on opposing defenders with speed and trickery.

He is currently with world champions France in Qatar as they hope to defend their world title and are through to the knockout stage breaking three editions of champions going out in the group stage.

Randal Kolo Muani replaced injured RB Leipzig star Christopher Nkunku, has now exposed Ousmane Dembele's funny fear of cats during a press conference quoted by GFFN.