Barcelona legend backtracks on bitter Ousmane Dembélé criticism
PSG star man Ousmane Dembele delivers second Champions League title as he makes Barcelona legend Hristo Stoichkov to eat his own words.
Barcelona legend Hristo Stoichkov praises PSG‘s Ousmane Dembele after unleashing fierce criticism on him a few seasons back.
Speaking to L’Equipe via Le10Sport, 1994 Ballon d’Or winner and former Barcelona stalwart Hristo Stoichkov was made to backtrack on his own words after Ousmane Dembele sealed his second Champions League trophy. The Bulgarian remarked, “Today, he’s at the very top. Luis Enrique? There was no one better to motivate him. How many coaches did he have before, and how did it go? In Barcelona, his behaviour was a disaster. Today, he’s not the same. He runs, he presses, he distributes, he scores, he plays for the team. This is the real Dembélé!”
While these words from Stoichkov seem to be kind enough for the Frenchman, the 60-year-old former Barcelona man was ruthless in his criticism of Dembele during his time with the Catalans from 2017 to 2023. His Barca spell was riddled with injuries, and he struggled to cope well with the system that saw numerous managers taking charge.
Witnessing Dembele’s performances with Barcelona, Stoichkov said: “Thank you so much for deceiving people into thinking you know how to play football. I say this because I played in that position. If you don’t want to be in Barcelona, at least don’t tarnish the badge. Ditch the shirt and tell people you’re leaving. Mr Laporta, open the door. Let him go. Those people who don’t feel these colours, let them leave. I sweated in this shirt, I know what Barça is all about.“
