Moustapha Diatta is the best friend of Ousmane Dembélé, the 28-year-old forward for Paris Saint-Germain and the French national team, who is the projected winner of the 2025 Ballon d’Or. Le Parisien had the opportunity to meet with him and ask him some questions about the French international’s career path. Topics included his move to PSG in 2023 from FC Barcelona, the role of club president Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, and that of coach Luis Enrique, who also played a significant role in his development.
Al-Khelaïfi and Luis Enrique were key figures.
“The decision to sign with PSG?
It wasn’t an easy decision, because Barcelona is where he spent most of his adult life. But it was an opportunity that presented itself. The fact that there was the objective of winning the Champions League for PSG, a French club, was appealing.
Perhaps it was also the right time to experience something new, to be closer to family. That was important to him. President Nasser Al-Khelaïfi worked hard to bring Ousmane to the club; his words were very influential, as were those of the coach (Luis Enrique).
“The coach managed to understand him and motivate him.”
Winning the Champions League?
It was exceptional. We had moments of joy, of stress, but I don’t think Ousmane wakes up every morning thinking, ‘I’m a European champion.’ For him, it’s more like: the Champions League is done, you check it off the list. You’re happy, but then you move on.
The coach managed to understand him and motivate him. And then, there’s divine grace. We are believers; when everything is going right and God says, ‘This year is yours,’ what do you do?” »
Even though Dembélé is from the Paris region, he dreamed of playing for Barça, and that’s understandable. It’s a huge club, one that shone particularly brightly during the years when the forward was developing as a player. Leaving wasn’t necessarily easy. However, PSG was also very attractive. It was the club of his region, close to his family, and it had an ambitious project to make history.
Furthermore, Moustapha Diatta points out that Nasser Al-Khelaïfi and Luis Enrique knew how to appeal to the player. Dembélé had already worked with the Spanish coach at Barça. Luis Enrique undoubtedly knew very well how to use the player and potentially help him reach his full potential.
The 2024-2025 season seemed to vindicate this approach, with Dembélé given more responsibility, a more central role with greater freedom, and also the controversial decision to leave him out of the squad for the Champions League group stage match against Arsenal. This decision was criticized by many, but Luis Enrique later stated that it was probably his best decision. And indeed, the breakthrough performance came shortly afterward.
