Player of Olympique Lyonnais between 2018 and 2023, Moussa Dembélé does not only have good memories of his time in the Rhône. He torpedoed the management of the club.
Apart from a loan between January and June 2021, Moussa Dembélé wore the colors of Olympique Lyonnais from the summer of 2018 to that of 2023. A prolific scorer, the player trained at Paris Saint-Germain has scored 70 goals with OL and distilled 19 assists in 172 matches, all competitions combined. Having left last July for Al-Ettifaq, Dembélé has not forgotten his experience in Lyon. But some things stuck in his throat.
In an interview given to Foot Mercato, the twenty-seven-year-old offensive player expressed his resentment, particularly regarding his treatment by supporters. “ When the hostility comes from your own supporters and it becomes hatred, that’s a different story. My last season in Lyon was complicated. » Then Dembélé insisted on the general atmosphere at OL. “ The environment there is unhealthy, not conducive to growth. I left like Malo (Gusto), Castello (Lukeba) and Bradley (Barcola), who also did well to leave to progress (…).“
Arrogance and incompetence
Then the attacker personally attacked Bruno Cheyrou, former head of the recruitment unit. “ His interview to say that the players are assets is a big lack of respect. I don’t know where he thought he was that day, maybe on a slave ship or on a cotton field where people are objects or numbers. (…) He thought he was smart to come and say, either they extend their time or they leave. In the end, no one extended and no one left. He made a fool of himself.“
No better for Vincent Ponsot, whom he considered “ disrespectful ” from his view. “ The last few months were terrible. Vincent Ponsot has a large share of responsibility since he heated up the supporters. He knew very well what he was doing. I had sensed his sneaky game since the summer of 2022, when he sent his journalist friends to say that I was choosing money by wanting to go free. » As for the rest of the leaders, Moussa Dembélé was not more tender. “ The sportsman is run by people who don’t know football. (…) It’s catastrophic, they are incompetent even when it comes to selling players. (…) The leaders are all incompetent and arrogant. » This is what is said.
