Ousmane Dembele has no regrets about going on strike at Borussia Dortmund, saying such behaviour was necessary to force a move to Barcelona.
France winger Dembele secured a €105million switch to Camp Nou, signing a five-year deal, as Barca sought a replacement for Neymar following the Brazilian s world-record €222m move to Paris Saint-Germain.
As his transfer edged closer, Dembele refused to train with Peter Bosz s side an act which cost him his place in the most recent France squad.
But the 20-year-old has no regrets, and says he would have in fact regretted not going on strike had the transfer failed to materialise.
I was relaxed, Dembele told Sport. It was a question of negotiation between Barca and Borussia.
I knew I had to have patience. I decided to stop going training.
I didn t want to go. I looked for an excuse not to go.
If it didn t work out and I hadn t done my part to get the move to Barca, now I would be lamenting the fact I wasn t here.
Dembele credited a pair of famous Champions League fixtures as sparking a long-held interest in the Catalan giants their semi-final victory over Chelsea in 2009 and a quarter-final tie against Arsenal in 2010 in which Lionel Messi scored four goals.
I remember two games especially, he said. One against Chelsea, when [Andres] Iniesta scored the goal to qualify for the Champions League final.
When I see Andres now I remember it. I can t wait to tell him.
And the other was a Champions League game against Arsenal. Barcelona had not done great in the first leg but in the second leg they produced a brilliant performance, with four goals from Messi. That s when I realised Messi s not from this world. It was incredible.
