Ousmane Dembele reveals life changing advice he received from Lionel Messi at Barcelona

The French star played alongside the Argentine superstar at Camp Nou.

As the PSG star is one of the favourites to win the 2025 Ballon d’Or, Ousmane Dembele has shared the “dreams” advice he received from Lionel Messi, while both stars were at FC Barcelona.

After winning the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the Champions League, France international Dembele may soon be regarded as the world’s best player. His 2024–25 season accomplishments are thought to make him a strong candidate to win the coveted Golden Ball: the Ballon d’Or.

When battling form and fitness at Barcelona, such a turnaround seemed a long way off. When Dembele moved from Borussia Dortmund to Barcelona in 2017, he teamed up with eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi. He was given a locker next to Messi.

Ousmane Dembele reveals what he learnt from Lionel Messi at Barca

Dembele told FourFourTwo about his experiences in Catalunya, emphasising that he was determined to learn as much as he could from Lionel Messi:

“I had a very good relationship with Messi from the very first day. My locker was right next to his, and he gave a lot of advice to me. He was someone who instinctively knew what you wanted. He told me that I’d have to be serious if I wanted to achieve my dreams – after that, I watched and learned from what he did on the pitch.”

“Whether he played as a number 10 or number nine, his positioning was exceptional, the way he seemed to make himself invisible on the pitch. Sometimes you don’t seem to see him for about four or five minutes, then as soon as he gets the ball, he instinctively knows what to do.”

When questioned if he would one day tell his two-year-old child about playing with the all-time great, Dembele responded, “I am already telling her now!”.

Dembele and Lionel Messi made 95 appearances together for Barca over four seasons before the latter left for Paris Saint-Germain in 2021.

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