Rise, fall and rise again of Dembele: From flop to Ballon d’Or winner

WE ALL know how quickly things can change.

But even by that standard, Ousmane Dembele has undergone a remarkable transformation.

A year ago, Dembele looked like he was on the way to becoming the ultimate wasted talent, going out of his way to be the “enfant terrible” of French football.

A big money flop at Barcelona, seemingly determined to become the latest PSG cast-off.

Yet on Monday evening, with the Ballon d’Or deservedly in his grasp, few would dispute his title as the world’s best player.

The stand-out performer in a stand-out team that made all of Europe swoon - having put paid to all four of the Prem’s Champions League contenders on the way to their long-demanded triumph.

And the man Liverpool boss Arne Slot has urged British record signing Alexander Isak to learn from and mimic.

There was an irony that PSG’s weather-rearranged clash with Marseille meant that Dembele’s PSG team-mates were not there to share his moment of triumph at the Chatelet Theatre, a long punt across the Seine from Notre Dame.

After all, it’s Dembele’s work-rate for Luis Enrique’s side, as much as his goals and glory, that have elevated the striker, 28, to his new heights.

The ability to pop up six yards out as he did at Anfield.

To drop deep to instigate the sweeping move that ended with him steering beyond David Raya at the Emirates.

To appear in the space that defenders hate - and continue to harry them when they are in possession.

While Dembele did not score in the 5-0 rout of Inter Milan in Munich, he had already done enough to justify all the accolades.

His tally of 35 goals and 16 assists in 53 games - even if the last of those was the Club World Cup Final thumping by Chelsea - were testament to an approach that few really envisaged.

After all, when he joined PSG in August 2023, the £43.3m fee was a symbol of how far Demebe’s stock had fallen.

Six years earlier he had joined Barcelona from Dortmund in a deal that stood to be worth up to £123m.

But he scored just 40 goals in 185 games for the Catalans, with only two double-figure seasons.

A succession of injuries led to questions over his attitude and even in his first season in Paris he was accused of putting himself ahead of anybody else.

Even last autumn, Luis Enrique left him behind for his side’s group stage defeat at Arsenal, accusing him of “not respecting” his team-mates.

That spark lit the fire. The coach moved him to a central role as the spearhead and all was different

Dembele himself conceded: “I've changed a lot, especially when it comes to my position, my style of play.

“Now I play in a position that allows me to be in front of goal, so I only need to convert my chances, which isn't easy, but I'm often well-positioned. I'm still using my natural skills, and it's paying off.”

Slot’s message to Isak last week was proof of that, with the Dutchman telling his £135m recruit: “Everybody is focused on PSG and all the goals they score but I was mainly impressed by the way they pressed.

“Ousmane Dembele was the outstanding example of that, with his pressing game. That’s why I want Alexander to do that pressing.”

Dembele. Bad boy to role model. And with the glittering trophy to prove it.