With Barcelona supporters reeling from a 2-1 home defeat to Real Madrid in Sunday’s El Clasico – a result that leaves the cash-strapped Kings of Catalonia ninth in La Liga – they probably don’t need reminding the club made a decision in summer 2017 that still haunts their dreams four years on.
“(Mbappe’s) signing was on the table but the coaches preferred (Ousmane) Dembele,” admits former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu, explaining why one World Cup-winning winger was chosen over the other.
Remarkably, Dembele has missed almost as many games through injury (97) as Mbappe has scored goals in the past few seasons.
And, just to sprinkle some salt on Barcelona’s gaping wounds, it’s understood a man who set the club back an initial £96 million could be about to leave Camp Nou for nothing.
Dembele is refusing to listen to offers of a contract extension, with Sport claiming talks regarding a move to nouveau-riche Newcastle United are under way.
The France international, despite an injury record that makes Owen Hargreaves look like James Milner, could become the first marquee signing of a bold new era at St James’ Park. He has reportedly been offered a contract worth a staggering £245,000 a week (FootMercato).
Can Ousmane Dembele kick-start his career at Newcastle United?
But if you thought Ernesto Valverde’s coaching staff were the only ones who would opt for Dembele over Mbappe, you’d be wrong.
Speaking to teammates Thomas Muller, Joshua Kimmich and Kingsley Coman during the filming of Amazon Prime’s Behind The Legend documentary on Bayern Munich, Serge Gnabry raised eyebrows by proclaiming: “Dembele is much better than Mbappe.”
Now, either Gnabry is still feeling the after-effects of one Oktoberfest stein too many or he’s spotted something we haven’t about a man who, even on the rare occasions when he’s fully fit, has often flattered to deceive in Barcelona colours.
It shouldn’t be forgotten, however, that Dembele was the world’s second-most expensive footballer as recently as 2017, a man hand-picked to succeed Neymar at Barcelona after a devastating season in the yellow and black of Borussia Dortmund.
Rediscover that form and stay free of the treatment table and Newcastle will have a truly elite-level forward at their disposal, one who, not so long ago, was viewed by many as Mbappe’s equal, if not his superior.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
