Overview
- Multiple outlets now present the 28-year-old as a leading Ballon d’Or candidate after a standout season at PSG that included Champions League recognition.
- Dembélé recalls having his locker next to Messi’s at Barcelona from 2017 to 2021, saying the Argentine offered direct advice and daily examples to follow.
- He praises Messi as “the greatest” and an inspiration, highlighting the star’s positional mastery and on-field connection with Jordi Alba.
- The Frenchman contrasts those lessons with early Barcelona seasons disrupted by injuries, crediting that period for driving his maturity and leadership in Paris.
- The Ballon d’Or ceremony is scheduled for September 22, and Dembélé has publicly called the award “the Holy Grail” of individual honors.