Tensions rising between Ousmane Dembélé and PSG? | OneFootball

Ousmane Dembélé (28) won the Ballon d’Or back in September after helping guide Paris Saint-Germain to the UEFA Champions League title. 

The Frenchman was prolific, but he has yet to repeat that performance this season. He has been hampered by injuries, the first of which was sustained on international duty at the start of September, the second of which came against Bayern Munich at the start of November. 

Consequently, he has just five goals and four assists in 17 games in all competitions (two of those goals, one of those assists and four of those appearances came during last summer’s FIFA Club World Cup). Since the injury against Bayern, PSG have acted prudently with the Ballon d’Or winner, opting to take no risk with the player’s fitness.

However, his management is now the source of tensions between Dembélé, his entourage, and Luis Enrique’s staff, according to a report from Canal Plus. He believes that he is capable of starting matches, and that, in fact, needs to start matches in order to rediscover his rhythm and return to form, but the club’s staff disagree that he is ready to start. He has not started a Ligue 1 game since that injury, and he once again came off the bench during the Intercontinental Cup win over Flamengo earlier this week (1-1, 2-1 on penalties). Dembélé struggled, however, missing a couple of chances and his penalty in the shootout.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle