Dembele in Bianconeri – When Juventus nearly signed Ballon d’Or winner from Barcelona | OneFootball

Ousmane Dembele is the man of the moment.

Last night, the French forward was crowned as the winner of the 2025 Ballon d’Or, after a successful season that saw him lift the Champions League with PSG.

However, things could have turned out differently for the Frenchman.

Dembele left Barcelona to join PSG in 2023 for a reported fee of around €50 million but the forward nearly left the Catalan giants in 2022, when initial contract talks broke down between the player and his club.

Ousmane Dembele (C) of PSG in action against Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer (R) and Federico Dimarco during the UEFA Champions League final between Paris Saint-Germain and Internazionale Milano in Munich, Germany 31 May 2025. EPA-EFE/RONALD WITTEK

Dembele nearly joined Juventus in 2022

At the time, Spanish outlet Sport reported that Juventus had reached an agreement in principle to sign Dembele upon the expiry of his contract in the summer.

However, in July, he signed a new deal with Barcelona until 2024. The following year he signed for PSG.

PARIS, FRANCE – SEPTEMBER 22: Ousmane Dembélé and family attend the 69th Ballon D’Or Photocall at Theatre Du Chatelet on September 22, 2025 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

A remarkable story and one that echoes ‘what could have have been’ for the Bianconeri.

In the summer of 2022, after missing out on the Frenchman, Juventus instead signed Federico Chiesa from Fiorentina, in addition to Filip Kostic and Angel Di Maria.