On October 25th, we relayed news from Spain that Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde has ‘lost confidence’ in Ousmane Dembele.
In the summer, his future was uncertain, then his good start to the season saw him change his situation, but things have not been good for the 21-year-old in recent times.
Mundo Deportivo now claims the attacker’s ‘disciplinary problems’ have been repeated as he regularly fails to be on time for training sessions.
Barcelona offered him a cook to take care of his diet and even a driver in order to help him settle down with his life after a difficult first season in Spain, but Dembele turned down both services.
After the clash against Sevilla, it is evident there is a ‘divorce’ between the forward and the coach, which has reportedly resulted in him being an unused substitute in his side’s Champions League win over Inter Milan.
It is not just the 55-year-old who has this view regarding the Frenchman as the Catalan newspaper claims the ‘heavyweights’ in the dressing room have already complained to their boss about the player’s attitude during the past few months.
In the last league victory over Pablo Machin’s side, Lionel Messi suffered an injury in the first half and the former Borussia Dortmund man took more time to prepare himself to get on the pitch, forcing the Blaugrana to play with 10 men for 10 mins during the game.
After coming on, his performance was not up to the mark, which resulted in the fans at Camp Nou expressing their unhappiness towards the player. This is why his manager left him on the bench against the Nerazzurri as a punishment.
If he takes it as a wake-up call and changes his attitude to improve, Dembele will be able to come out of the difficult situation at Barcelona, otherwise, he could ‘sentence himself’.
Should things remain unchanged, don’t be surprised if he’s linked with a big money move to the Premier League.