French winger Ousmane Dembele, 25, plays for Barcelona (Spain), the club where he lived closely with Messi, the Argentine star, the opponent the French will face on Sunday, the 18th of this month, in Doha, in final. World Cup in Qatar, told reporters in the Qatar capital this Friday that the Argentine friend and teammate is a “very calm person” and even helped him “calm down” when he moved to the Catalan club.
“I had four great seasons at Barcelona with Messi. [desde 2021 no PSG]🇧🇷 He is an exceptional player who, like Iniesta, made me fall in love with Barça. I am very happy that he plays and is next to me. Leo is a very calm person and he helps the youth a lot. I came to Barcelona when I was 20 years old. [Messi] every day he gave me some “advice” to calm down, wait for the right moment to beat the ball and make the pass,” Dembele told reporters that day in Doha.
“It’s hard to argue with him. [a Messi, dentro de campo], but we will do everything so that he barely touches the ball during the World Cup final. We fight for our countries, for our team, and we both want to win the World Cup. With Messi’s great career, it would be nice if he won it, but we also want to be two-time champions,” Dembele said, recalling that France was the owner of the scepter won in Russia 2018 (4-2 against Croatia in the final).
There was also a guarantee that the respiratory virus spreading in the “blues” – Rabiot and Upamecano were already suffering from the “camel virus”, now Conate and Varane are sick – would not dampen the enthusiasm and increase the anguish in the French team. “I make them ginger tea with honey, and everything goes away,” he suggested a playful recipe.
Dembele has no doubts about the victory over the Pampas team. “We still need to do better in the offensive chapter: we have to be decisive. I still have a goal to show, yes. I hope I saved it for Sunday, the final. But I enjoy helping Kunda and Griezmann on the pitch: when one of us returns the ball, everyone is excited. Even without scoring, I feel important in the team, ”the Barça player emphasized.
And as for curiosity about Argentina averaging nearly one penalty to their colors in every game at this World Cup, and fear of refereeing, Dembele was generous.
“If there is a penalty, the referee decides. Defenders know they have to keep an eye on where they are at all times. Do Argentines complain a lot? I didn’t think much about it, but in football you need to be aggressive, you always need to have a ready answer, ”he concluded.
