This Tuesday, PSG faces Bayer Leverkusen for the 3rd day of the Champions League (9 p.m.). After being away from the field for a month and a half due to a right thigh injury suffered with the Blues on September 5, Ousmane Dembélé returns to the Parisian group. In the meantime, the French striker reached a milestone in his career by winning the Ballon d'Or, a trophy which profoundly changed his status.
This distinction naturally places Dembélé under a new gaze. Emmanuel Petit believes that the Frenchman must now meet higher expectations. “By everything he accomplished during the season and which led him to win the Ballon d'Or… that obviously the way his teammates, football fans, Paris Saint-Germain and the world of football viewed him changed. And then he changed his status too”underlines the 1998 world champion, interviewed by RMC.
“It must not change”
Jean-Pierre Papin, another French Ballon d'Or, recalls that this award implies additional responsibility. “The hardest part begins for him because when you are Ballon d’Or, afterwards, you have to assume, he insists. When you have this trophy, others no longer look at you in the same way, no longer play against you in the same way. And he must not change, he must remain the same, as effective and important in the team. »
Luis Enrique also seems ready to gradually integrate Dembélé. But under no circumstances wants to put pressure on his player. “You are very concerned about the Ballon d’Or. But it's Ousmane, he's not the Ballon d'Or. It's the same player. We are very happy to have Ousmane back, like Marquinhos and Désiré Doué last week. It’s always important for a coach to have these possibilities”said the Spanish technician yesterday.
