"For me, it is to win the Champions League" - Barcelona superstar says he would prefer winning the UEFA Champions League over the World Cup and Ballon d'Or
Barcelona attacker Ousmane Dembele was recently quizzed about which honor he would want to win the most between the UEFA Champions League, Ballon d'Or, and FIFA World Cup.
Rather surprisingly, the Frenchman picked winning the Champions League with the Blaugrana as his top-most priority.
During an interview with RMC Sport, here's what the 25-year-old winger had to say:
“Personally, for me it is to win the Champions League with Barcelona. That Barcelona regains the Champions League, it’s now been seven years since they won. That they win titles, La Liga, the Champions League, that’s the most important thing.”
Dembele has been in good form under Xavi Hernandez so far this season. In eight games, the winger has scored two goals and provided four assists for the Catalan club.
That said, the winger endured a difficult few seasons to start his life in Spain since joining from Borussia Dortmund for €105 million in 2017. Due to his recurring injury issues and inconsistent form, Dembele has played just 158 matches so far for Barcelona, contributing 34 goals and 38 assists.
While assessing what caused the change in his fortune at Camp Nou, here's what the 25-year-old added:
"To have a coach that believes in me is really important. With Roland Courbis, Thomas Tuchel and Xavi… It has always been so important to have this confidence in me. The way I was working before was not good enough. If you don’t do work, you will get injured."
He added:
"Koeman changed everything, he gave me health, that’s the least of things. When I arrived at Barça I was young, but now, with experience, I’m above everything."
Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele opens up France's chances at the FIFA World Cup 2022
The FIFA World Cup 2022 is on the horizon as the tournament in Qatar is set to start on November 20. France will enter the competition as the defending champions.
Dembele is confident that the French camp has a top team and stated that the morale of the squad is really high, as he said:
"Yes of course. Afterwards, group life is very important to perform. We saw it at the World Cup in 2018. There was the quality of the team etc… but that’s not what wins a World Cup. There is a whole workforce, a whole staff and if there is a good mood in all this workforce, there you will perform."
While talking about his team's chances of retaining the throne, here's what the former Borussia Dortmund man added:
"The objective is to keep the title but with caution all the same. There are some nations that are strong too. For me, now there are no more small nations, you can win or lose against everyone. It’s even more difficult and I think France will fight in Qatar to keep the title."
France will take on Austria today (September 22) and Denmark on September 25 in their UEFA Nations League matches before the World Cup.