Dembélé, a departure that (again) infuriates Borussia supporters

Ousmane Dembélé returns to Dortmund for the Champions League semi-final first leg with PSG, six and a half years after his sensational departure from FC Barcelona. The reception from the public promises to be frosty.

Between Ousmane Dembélé and his exes, things are complicated. Having to face the whistles of Montjuic against FC Barcelona, ​​the Paris Saint-Germain winger risks being beaten by Borussia Dortmund supporters this Wednesday during the Champions League semi-final first leg. The fault is his departure in 2017 for Barça, after just one (excellent) season in Germany.

Six and a half years later, while this reunion with BVB is not unprecedented, it is the first time Ousmane Dembélé has played for a club again on the pitch at Signal Iduna Park. In the group stage of the Champions League this autumn, a suspension deprived him of the match on German soil. In 2019, with Barcelona, ​​another injury got in his way.

Two weeks of strike

The reasons for the dissatisfaction focus on the month of August 2017. It all starts with the transfer of Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain for 222 million euros. A case that was made official on August 3. FC Barcelona, ​​surprised by the cancellation of the release clause of its Brazilian star, is looking for a replacement in a hurry. Ousmane Dembélé, followed closely since his appearance at Stade Rennais, is holding the rope.

An offer falls. On 10 August, Borussia Dortmund revealed that they had rejected an initial proposal “which did not correspond to the extraordinary footballing qualities and status of the player, nor to the current financial situation in the European transfer market”. But the response does not please Ousmane Dembélé, who responds with a training strike.

“I hope nothing serious happened to him,” joked coach Peter Bosz.

For a whole week, the future world champion was dry. FC Barcelona marinates the matter and ends up making a new offer on August 22. Three days later, the deal is official for 145 million euros (including bonus). Ousmane Dembélé therefore leaves the yellow ship after almost two weeks without training.

“He did it a little too soon”

In the following days, supporters showed their displeasure at the stadium. “Who the hell is Dembélé?” (“Damn … who is Dembélé?”), we can read on a flocked jersey, the image of which will go viral.

Shortly after at RMC, his ex-teammate Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang admitted that the method used could have been less brutal. “Everyone was a bit affected by his departure. He had an agreement with the club that if Barcelona came, they wouldn’t stop him from leaving. Afterwards everyone said it wasn’t the best thing he did. I think it’s true, in that he just had to talk to Dortmund first, to find out if they were going to release him, I could have understood what he did a little too soon.

To make matters worse, Picture reveals that “Dembouz” left his German apartment in a deplorable state, so much so that the owner was awarded 10,000 euros in court.

“The house was just trash,” he blurted out.

However, Ousmane Dembélé’s adventure in the Ruhr was very positive until this episode. Under the orders of Thomas Tuchel, who often used him as a central attacking midfielder, his record is 10 goals and 22 assists in 50 games. Only 19 years old.