JAKARTA - Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele spoke about his first five seasons at Camp Nou. He said it was a lost year.
The French winger arrived at Camp Nou in 2017 at a huge cost from Borussia Dortmund. However, it took him a long time to adapt and only in the last year he began to look like the player the Blaugrana had hoped.
Speaking to RMC, the 25-year-old reflected his career so far and admitted that he could do a lot better.
"I'm as young as everyone," Dembele said when asked about his lifestyle in his first years at Barcelona.
But I managed to move on from that situation. However, not as many people think.
"From 2017 to 2021 I wasted a lot of time. I have lost five years of my life."
The France international often suffered injuries that frustrated him. It was said that the fitness problem was because he didn't train properly.
I often suffer from hamstring injuries. If you don't work hard, you will be stuck," said Dembele.
You would hurt yourself if you didn't get stronger, they told me. With Ronald Koeman and Xavi it got better.
Since then I haven't been injured. I'm fine, I feel good at Barcelona, I have the trust of the whole team, the whole club and I'm happy. Now everyone is talking about football better."
Dembele also revealed that he knew he would renew his contract since December last year and that Xavi played a big role in it.
"With Xavi's trust, I feel I have to hold on. I really want Barcelona to win the Champions League again, it's been seven years (not yet champions yet)," said Dembele.
I remember the meeting with Xavi in December. I told him that I would sign my contract.
"Personally, winning the Champions League with Barcelona is my goal... winning the title, LaLiga Santander, Champions League, that's the most important thing."
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