Ousmane Dembele spent years carrying the weight of a staggering £135 million price tag at Barcelona — a fee that made him the second-most expensive footballer in history at the time of his 2017 arrival — yet consistent brilliance eluded him for much of that spell. A succession of injuries and patchy form left many questioning whether the Catalans had simply paid too much for the French forward.
A move to Paris Saint-Germain in 2023 for £43.5 million offered the prospect of a fresh start, but a new obstacle emerged: the towering presence of compatriot Kylian Mbappe.
Leboeuf's sharp observation
Former France international Frank Leboeuf believes Mbappe's dominance at PSG actively suppressed Dembele's output. Speaking to FourFourTwo, the ex-Chelsea defender described a pattern he observed whenever the two forwards lined up together.
