Barcelona striker Luiz Suarez has today spoken out over the recent struggles of teammate Ousmane Dembele, also providing some tough-love for the Frenchman.
Dembele’s rise to prominence
Following a breakout season in his home country with Rennes 3 years ago, 21-year-old Dembele made the move to Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2016, quickly establishing himself as one of world football’s most coveted young stars.
A return of 10 goals and a staggering 21 assists in his debut campaign at the Westfalenstadion left Europe’s top sides scrambling for the services of the wing wizard, with La Liga giants Barcelona having sought out the Frenchman to replace Neymar, following his move to Paris Saint-Germain.
Barcelona sign Dembele
Following months of speculation, Dembele finally completed his long-anticipated move to the Blaugrana in August of last year for a then-club-record fee potentially rising to almost 150 million Euro.
However, the youngster’s time at the Camp Nou has not gone exactly according to plan since. A number of injuries saw Dembele restricted to just 14 starts across all competitions last season.
Nevertheless, though, despite his limited time on the pitch, the Frenchman did manage to rack up 3 goals and 6 assists in La Liga, showcasing flashes of his undoubted potential to the Barca faithful.
Ousmane Dembele celebrates with Lionel Messi during the UEFA Champions League Round-of-16 Second-Leg match Barcelona and Chelsea
Dembele’s recent struggles
The early weeks of the current campaign saw Dembele look as though he had finally found his feet in Catalunya.
Starring performances versus the likes of Sevilla, Huesca and Real Sociedad saw the World Cup winner look at ease in the front-line of the Blaugrana, with a promising relationship with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez having looked set to blossom.
However, the last 6 weeks have seen Dembele in and out of Ernesto Valverde’s starting lineup once again.
Reports have whirled regarding just why this has been the case, amid 3 separate claims regarding Dembele’s situation at the Camp Nou.
First off, the Frenchman is said to have arrived late for Barca’s clash with Sevilla last month.
This was followed by reports that Dembele did not inform the club that he was set to miss a training session due to gastroenteritis earlier this month.
And, incredibly, Spanish outlet AS even claimed yesterday that Barcelona are worried that Dembele may be suffering from a gaming addiction.
‘Being a footballer is a privilege’
Whatever the case may be, things are not quite working out for Dembele in Catalunya at this moment in time.
And, with speculation mounting that an attitude problem could be behind the attacker’s lack of game-time of late, one of Dembele’s teammates has today provided the Frenchman with a piece of advice.
The player in question is Luis Suarez, who has revealed his opinion that his fellow Blaugrana star needs to take stock of just how lucky he is, and ‘take inspiration’ from the rake of consummate professionals in the club’s dressing room:
‘I think being a footballer is a privilege. I think he should focus on football, and take inspiration from the exemplary professionals in the Barcelona dressing room.’
Luis Suarez of Barcelona celebrates with Ousmane Dembele during the La Liga match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid
Significantly, Suarez also added that Dembele has ‘adapted well to the dressing room. The relationship with peers is good and he is always happy.’
💥 Luis Suárez a Dembélé:
“Como ya han dicho algunos de mis compañeros, ser futbolista es un privilegio. Creo que debería concentrarse principalmente en el fútbol, e inspirarse en los ejemplos de profesionalidad que hay en el vestuario del Barça” https://t.co/nIl1VPNFuM pic.twitter.com/gwutwSgo1y
— Mundo Deportivo (@mundodeportivo) November 19, 2018
Barcelona’s road ahead
Next up for Barca following the international break is a crucial trip to Madrid to take on Atletico this Saturday.
Ernesto Valverde’s men will then travel to the Netherlands for a Champions League meeting with PSV 4 days later.
Barcelona midfielder Denis Suarez wants Arsenal move
Paul Pogba & Leo Messi’s meeting sparks Man United & Barcelona rumours
Be the first to comment