Ousmane Dembele: How PSG Star 'Betrayed' Barcelona Weeks Before Joining Ligue 1 Club

• Ousmane Dembele has completed his move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain
• Reports have since emerged of him pledging allegiance to Barca weeks before his exit
• Dembele joined the reigning Ligue 1 champions for a fee in the region of ₤50 million

Ousmane Dembele has consistently divided opinions among Barcelona fans since completing his record transfer from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2017.

The 26-year-old's time at the club was hampered by a series of injuries, meaning he could only muster a total of 40 goals in his 186 competitive appearances, despite all the hype surrounding his arrival in Spain.

The Frenchman's endless time on the sidelines led to fans openly calling for the Catalan giants not to renew his contract in the summer of 2021.

However, Barcelona coach, Xavi Hernandez, backed Dembele and the attacker was granted a three-year contract extension, per Goal.

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The second half of the 2022/23 season saw the player again dogged by injuries and many fans believed he would be shown the door at Camp Nou.

Instead, Dembele secured a transfer in the region of ₤50 million to Ligue 1 champions, Paris Saint-Germain, despite his previous statements of intent with Barcelona.

Dembele 'wanted to continue' with Barcelona

Barely for weeks before the World Cup winner completed his transfer to France, he spoke about his desire to stay with the La Liga champions, as quoted by Marca:

"Barca wants to renew me until 2027 and my agent is talking to them. I’m happy here and I want to continue. We’ll see what happens."

The publication mentioned Dembele discussing the current Barcelona set-up, with a good atmosphere in the dressing room despite a mix of veterans and youngsters.

"We are like a family. I feel very good with my teammates and in the city. I am happy here and I am playing."

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Ironically, the Frenchman had even quashed talk about potentially joining PSG, stating he saw himself nowhere else but Barcelona.

"We were negotiating, something that is normal in the world of football. Sometimes things went well and sometimes not so well, but in the end, an agreement was reached. There was a lot of talk about PSG, perhaps because I’m French, but there was nothing at any time with this club."

With his move to the Parisians now confirmed within a month of making these comments, many have called out Dembele for 'betraying' Barcelona.

However, he will likely be more focused on pairing with Kylian Mbappe, who was recently re-instated into the first team amid news that Neymar Junior will be departing for Saudi Arabia.

Dembele reveals his superhero power

Sports Brief also reported on Dembele revealing which superhero power he wished to have.

In an interview with Media Parisien, the forward explained he wanted the ability to teleport.

Dembele's chosen ability is perhaps most famous through the X-Men character, Nightcrawler.