‘He has become persona non grata’: Ousmane Dembélé faces yet another frosty reception

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·30 April 2024

‘He has become persona non grata’: Ousmane Dembélé faces yet another frosty reception

Ousmane Dembélé (26) doesn’t do departures on good terms. Copiously booed and a target for Barcelona fans ire in the UEFA Champions League quarter final second leg two weeks ago, the Frenchman went on to score and provide an assist in a comprehensive Paris Saint-Germain win.

Tomorrow night, he will visit another former club in Borussia Dortmund, with his acrimonious departure in 2017 after effectively going on strike to force a move to Barcelona still leaving a bitter taste at the club.

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It had all started so well, the Frenchman forming a fearsome connection with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in his first (and only) season, registering 10 goals and a staggering 21 assists before forcing a move the following summer, boycotting Dortmund’s 2017/2018 pre-season preparations.

The German club’s general director Hans-Joachim Watzke, who was forced to sell the young star for a club record 135M€, recalls the situation:

“It’s true that this episode was frustrating in hindsight, especially as Ousmane had had a fantastic first season producing world class performances, winning the hearts of the fans only to ruin everything without cause.”

Matthias Sammer, legendary former BVB player and now special advisor at the club, concurs:

“His behaviour was absolutely unacceptable. To not accept a contract is unacceptable. His attitude was catastrophic, I was shocked, especially as we could’ve found a better solution to prevent him from leaving the way he did”.

If board members were angry, the fury of the famous Gelbe Wand was even more pronounced, especially given the Frenchman’s first season at the club. Andreas, a Yellow Wall member since 1998, remembers:

“I had never seen a player integrate and impose himself as quickly as Dembélé did. In terms of show and explosivity, he was even better than Erling Haaland or Jude Bellingham. He gave us so much pleasure with the ball at his feet, but his attitude was terrible left us with alot of bitterness. Without this episode and the way he left, he would’ve been considered one of the best players in the history of the club, whereas now he is persona non grata in Dortmund.”

In the words of former Dortmund teammate and current Real Betis defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos, the Frenchman’s biggest error was ” To believe that he was bigger than the club. Borussia is an institution that you respect and to which every player must commit himself. He didn’t understand that.”

It is going to be a glacial welcome back for Dembélé. Judging by the quarter final, it won’t phase him.

GFFN | Jack McArdle