""I wasted a lot of time": Dembele OPENS UP on injuries and his career
The Frenchman talked about what changed for him to return to his best game under Xavi
It's hard to describe how much things have changed for Ousmane Dembele in the last 12 months. At one point one of the biggest examples of all that was wrong with the Bartomeu-era Barcelona, the Frenchman was disappointing on the pitch, the few times that his injuries and low fitness allowed his coaches to select him. Now, however, he's back near his best and thriving under Xavi Hernandez, and he's the first to admit his share of the blame.
A new man, Ousmane Dembele is enjoying himself like few times before at Barcelona
"From 2017 to 2021 I was constantly losing time due to injuries", acknowledged Dembélé in an interview with French radio show Rothen s'enflamme. "I had a lot of hamstring injuries. So I had to work. They often told me: 'if you don't work, you will stagnate, if you don't get stronger, you will get injured'. And then something happened, with Koeman, and with Xavi it was even better. Since then, I have not had any injuries. We're always crossing our fingers, we keep working and then I'm fine".
In that period of time, Dembele missed 102 games across 695 days he was injured. That's right, the Frenchman has been injured almost two full years since arriving at Barcelona; but that's behind him according to the former Borussia Dortmund man: "I feel good at Barcelona, I have the trust of the whole team, the whole club, and I'm happy. It's good because I've been through a lot in the last five years, now everyone talks about football, it's all better".
The 25 year old was open to admit perhaps some of his problems stemmed from having the wrong company, but, he won't allow people to judge what they don't now : "I was young, like everyone else. But I managed to get out of this situation. However, not everything is as people imagined".
Now, Dembele is enjoying his best football once again, and he sets himself big targets: "With Xavi's confidence [in me], I just had to stay. Personally, I want to win the Champions League with Barcelona. That Barcelona win the Champions League again because they haven't won it for seven years. Win titles, the League, the Champions, that's the most important thing".
The Champions League is Dembele's big objective with Barcelona
With the Qatar 2022 World Cup looming ever larger, he was also asked about Kylian Mbappe, with whom he'll share the dream of lifting France's third crown. "I would like us to play more together", admitted Dembele, "On the field, we get along very well. I know his qualities and he knows mine. We have played 4 or 5 games together, and he has done very well for us. I remember the games against England or against Italy before the World Cup. I want to do everything possible to be in the team as long as possible".
Since the arrival of Xavi Hernandez to the coach's seat at Barcelona, Ousmane Dembele has played 39 games, scoring 4 and assisting 17. This season he has 2 goals and 4 assists in 8 games.
Continue reading: "I already decided in May that I wanted to stay at Barcelona"
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