Ousmane Dembele has insisted that it "was written" that he would join Paris Saint-Germain at some point in his career. But he wasn't initially planning for it to be this year.
The France star burst onto the scene at Ligue 1 side Rennes as a teenager, before becoming one of Europe's highest-rated young players during a very impressive spell at Borussia Dortmund in Germany - scoring 10 goals and bagging 18 assists in all competitions during the 2016/17 season.
That stunning form led to Barcelona forking out a whopping €105m - plus €40m in add-ons - for his services. However, Dembele largely failed to live up to the huge hype surrounding him after joining the La Liga giants, thanks in large part to a myriad of injury concerns during his time at Camp Nou. In total, the forward missed 141 competitive games for both club and country while under contract at Barca, with muscle injuries dogging him throughout this period.
Having rediscovered fitness and form at the end of the 2022/23 campaign, Barcelona had entered talks with the forward over a extending a the two-year deal he penned in July 2022. However, despite discussions with the Camp Nou club over a new contract, Dembele would ultimately agree a five-year contract with PSG who forked out €50.4m for his servives.
Speaking in an interview with L'Equipe, Dembele has opened up about the decision to join Paris Saint-Germain, admitting that he would have signed a new Barca deal had the French side not came calling.
"Indeed, I said I would stay at Barcelona, but after contacts with PSG, I was convinced to leave."
Dembele also went on to quash rumours that Kylian Mbappe had played a part in his move to the perennial Ligue 1 champions.
"Kylian did not try to convince me, I came to Paris because I love the club, it is a French club and I love it. I come from Evreux, not far from here. Everyone here talks about Paris Saint-Germain. It was written that one day I would sign for this club," Dembele explained.
"I have many friends, supporters of the club, who always tried to convince me to come. Was it easy to choose after my best months at Barcelona? I wanted to sign for PSG."
Dembele had previously spoken about his desire to win trophies with PSG, having grown up relatively nearby in Evreux in the south east of neighbouring region Normandy.
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This article was originally published on 90min as Ousmane Dembele makes Barcelona admission over PSG transfer.