Ousmane Dembele

Ousmane Dembele is a French footballer who plays as a forward for FC Barcelona.

The 25-year-old forward was born in Vernon, France in 1997 and started his youth career at French club Evreux.

He then joined the youth set-up at Rennes in 2010, before breaking into the reserve side and subsequently the first team.

Dembele spent one season at Borussia Dortmund in 2016-17 but a move to Spain and FC Barcelona soon beckoned, and he moved to Camp Nou in the summer of 2017.

He helped FC Barcelona to win the Spanish La Liga title in his first season at the club in the 2017-18 campaign.

He has represented France at various youth levels, and made his senior debut for his country back in 2016.

So, what do we know about Dembele’s journey to becoming the talented footballer he is today? This is his story.

Early Life, Parents And Upbringing

Ousmane Dembele (full name: Masour Ousmane Dembele) was born on 15 May 1997 in Vernon, Eure, in Normandy, France.

His mother is Mauritanian-Senegalese from Waly Diantang and his father is Malian.

Youth Career

Dembele began his footballing career at French side Evreux, having joined their ALM Evreux set-up in 2004 and then moving on to Evreux FC when he was 12 and 13 years old.

He then joined the Rennes youth set-up in 2010.

Rennes

Dembele made his debut for the Rennes reserve side on 6 September 2014, and he scored a total of 13 goals in 22 league games for Rennes II in the 2014-15 campaign.

Dembele scored his first Ligue 1 goal for Rennes on 22 November 2015, netting in a 2-2 draw with Bordeaux. Later in the season, on 6 March 2016, Dembele scored his first Ligue 1 hat-trick in a 4-1 victory over Nantes.

He scored a total of 12 goals in 26 Ligue 1 games for Rennes in the 2015-16 season before a transfer to Germany beckoned.

Ousmane Dembele (Photo: FC Barcelona / YouTube / Screengrab)

Borussia Dortmund

Dembele’s good performances for Rennes had not gone unnoticed and was the subject of interest from Borussia Dortmund.

“Dortmund showed a lot of interest in me right from an early stage and they have always kept close contact with me – this really impressed me,” Dembele said when his move to Dortmund was announced.

“I am totally convinced of the Borussia sporting concept. I can hardly wait to play in the Bundesliga in front of more than 80,000 spectators in the Signal Iduna Park and to walk onto the pitch in the Champions League with my new team-mates.”

Dembele made his debut for Dortmund in a 2-0 defeat by Bayern Munich in the DFL-Supercup on 14 August 2016. He then scored his first goal for Dortmund on 20 September 106 in a 5-1 Bundesliga win over Wolfsburg away from home.

He scored 10 goals in 49 games in all competitions for Dortmund in the 2016-17 season as he helped the club to win the DFB-Pokal trophy.

His performances had attracted the interest of FC Barcelona, and another transfer switch beckoned in the summer of 2017.

FC Barcelona

FC Barcelona announced that they had reached an agreement to sign Dembele on 25 August 2017. The fee was reported to be around €105m plus €40m in add-ons. The move made him the world’s second-most expensive player at the time.

He signed a five-year contract, and his new deal included a release clause set at €400m. He was handed the number 11 shirt.

Ousmane Dembele (Photo: FC Barcelona / YouTube / Screengrab)

“He’s a player who guarantees an attacking threat, which is something we had lost [Neymar to PSG] and we badly need,” FC Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde told a news conference following the announcement of the deal. “He can play on either wing or through the middle, he gets forward a lot and is very technical. We expect a lot from him and we’re very excited about him.”

He scored his first goal for FC Barcelona on 14 March 2018, netting in a 3–0 win in the Champions League last-16 clash second leg against Chelsea FC.

Dembele enjoyed his best return in FC Barcelona colours in the 2018-19 campaign, when he scored 14 goals in 42 games in all competitions for the Spanish side, helping them to win the La Liga title.

Wages, Salary And Transfer Fees

When Dembele signed for FC Barcelona in August 2017, the Spanish club reported that the transfer fee was worth €105m plus add-ons. His contract release clause was set at €400m.

According to Spanish newspaper Marca in February 2022, Dembele was earning around €250,000 per week in the final year of his contract at FC Barcelona.

International Career

Dembele represented his country of birth, France, at various youth levels.

Dembele was part of the France squad who won the 2018 World Cup in Russia, making a total of four appearances at the tournament.

Ousmane Dembele (Photo: FC Barcelona / YouTube / Screengrab)

Life Away From The Pitch

Dembele appears to enjoy keeping a relatively low profile away from football. Most of the posts on his personal Instagram account centre on his footballing career.

In December 2021, Dembele married his wife in a traditional Moroccan ceremony.

What Have Others Said?

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, speaking in February 2022 as Ousmane Dembele approached the end of his contract with FC Barcelona: “I don’t know (if it is possible for him to renew at Barcelona), but the only thing I can say is that everything is possible in life. We had an incredible year in Dortmund and he is an unbelievable player. Ousmane is one of the best.

“To tell you the truth, I’m very happy that he’s here and when I arrived I told him: ‘You have to stay, man.’ Dembele is like my little brother. We have never lost contact. When he scored, I always sent him a message. Did I message him before arriving at Barcelona? Yes, but not much, because I knew he was in a bit of a difficult situation.”