The Rising Act of Ousmane Dembélé
Ousmane Dembélé was 21 years old when he lifted the World Cup with France. At only twenty, he commanded what is today the fourth-largest transfer sum when he left Dortmund for Barca. He seemed destined for greatness with one of the world's largest clubs. His pace was dazzling; he possessed a potent right foot and an equally adept left. He left legends like Andrés Iniesta and Lionel Messi in awe with his talent. However, none of it seemed to manifest. In his six years in Catalonia, Dembélé never hit double-digit goals in La Liga and never started over 20 matches. In 2022, he was infamously subbed off before halftime in the World Cup Final. His time at Barca was left full of “what ifs.” What if he hadn’t missed so much time with injury? What if he found his finishing touch? What if he blossomed into the player Barca paid over 130 million euros for?
None of these questions got answered in Catalonia, but now, in his second year in Paris, there has been some clarity. Dembélé now dons different shades of blue and red, back in his home country, playing for Paris Saint-Germain. Now playing for Luis Enrique, Dembélé has become a Ballon d'Or contender with 21 goals in Ligue One, having already clinched the double. On Saturday, he has the chance to win the Champions League against Inter Milan. If PSG wins, they become UCL winners for the first time and the 11th team to have won the treble. From being a flop at one of the world’s most storied clubs to leading Europe’s most potent attack, Dembélé could cement his football immortality on Saturday with one of Europe's newest giants.
The Rise & the Fall
At only 18, Dembélé started 22 league games for his boyhood club Rennes, scoring 12 times. This caught the eye of Dortmund, who brought him in for 35 million euros. After a solid year in Germany, his life changed. After PSG triggered Neymar’s release clause, Barca was left without a difference maker on the left flank and with cash to spare. The Blaugrana turned to Dembélé to fill the space left by Neymar, at the time the biggest transfer fee paid by Barcelona. Unfortunately, the Frenchman never lived up to the hype. In his six seasons in Spain, he had on five different occasions missed over ten consecutive matches with injury. Reports surfaced that he was unprofessional, citing habitual tardiness and an unhealthy diet.
In the 2022-23 season, Dembélé had a solid year helping Barca lift their first La Liga title after Messi’s departure. He had five goals and seven assists in the league and became Xavi’s go-to right-winger tasked with holding the width on the right side. In the following August, Dembélé, having not renewed his contract, left for France as PSG paid his release clause and for only 50 million euros. He never managed to crack 15 or more goal contributions in the league. He didn’t reach the levels of silverware expected and never lived up to the sky-high expectations, as his exit was not well-received in Catalonia. He showed glimpses, there were flashes, but they never stayed.
The Rising Act
Dembélé was one of the couple of attackers brought in to complement Kylian Mbappé after Messi and Neymar left Paris. Dembélé, as well as Bradley Barcola, Randal Kolo Muani, Marco Ascensio and Gonçalo Ramos were all acquired in the summer of 2023. Once again, Dembélé’s task was to replace the firepower left behind by Neymar. He started for Enrique on the right side, thought to be a versatile complement to Mbappe’s right foot and to whichever striker PSG deployed. His first year in Paris wasn’t great as he finished with three Ligue One goals and two in the Champions League, ironically with both against Barca. During that 2023-24 season, Enrique occasionally played Dembélé as an attacking midfielder as he liked to drift centrally to set up space outside for Archaf Hakimi. The move didn’t manifest into anything significant as PSG was eliminated in the UCL Semifinals after failing to score against Dortmund, and Mbappe left for Madrid in July.
In 2024, PSG was off to a rough start in the Champions League. Dembélé wasn’t doing too well either, getting left off the squad for the group-stage match against Arsenal. As the year changed, Enrique started playing Dembélé as the central attacker more often in place of a traditional striker, as Kolo Muani and Ramos hadn’t blossomed. In January, Dembélé scored a stoppage-time winner in the Trophée des Champions against Monaco. In the Champions League, PSG essentially needed to beat Man City to keep their UCL hopes alive. Dembélé came on at halftime and changed the game with his dribbling, helping PSG win after being down 2-0. That same month, PSG signed Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to complete the attack.
Put into the central role, Dembélé took off. He has 25 goals for PSG in 2025 alone. He’s been deadly in his new role as his position allows him to access the entire pitch. With most wingers, you can defend them by taking away one of their feet or by containing them using the touchline. You can’t do this with Dembélé, who is equally proficient with both feet and is faster than most centerbacks. He also has the unique ability to drop into the midfield and receive the ball centrally because of his superb ability on the ball. This can allow space for the wingers or midfielders behind and can confuse the defense. In his goal against Arsenal, he received the ball ten yards away from the midfield line with plenty of space between the center-backs and midfielders. This allowed him to find the left winger, who then played the ball centrally to Dembélé, who tucked home the goal. The play also showed off the other biggest recent revelation in his game, finishing. He’s improved massively, recording a shot on target percentage of 51.0 in Ligue One after 32.6 the previous season. He’s also improved his goals per shot on target percentage by 20 points this season. The goal against Arsenal had an XG of 0.09, but he still made it nearly unsavable for David Raya as the ball kissed the far post.
In 2025, Dembélé has been a difference-maker in every big moment for PSG. He scored and converted his penalty against Liverpool. He scored twice in the UCL playoffs against Brest and twice in the Coupe de France Semi-final after going down 2-0. He’s been the catalyst of PSG’s run to the Champions League final. If PSG lifts the trophy on Saturday, Dembélé will be the premier player of PSG's best season in club history. Regardless, his story has been one of redemption. He’s become everything Barca fans thought he could be when he made the move in 2017. Under Luis Enrique, he’s become one of the best players in the world and a Ballon d'Or favorite. A UCL title could be the perfect crescendo of Dembélé’s rising act.
