Dembele reveals Messi told him off for dribbling too much as he prepares to face old pal in World Cup final
OUSMANE DEMBELE has revealed how Lionel Messi told him off for DRIBBLING too much.
The French winger hopes to wreck his former team-mate’s World Cup dream in the final against Argentina.
Dembele, 25, played with Messi, the ultimate dribbler, for four years at Barcelona before the superstar moved to PSG.
He said: “I was 20 when I arrived and Messi was amazing.
“I was doing lots of things like dribbling by myself so he taught me to play in a team, taught me to be more composed and to do assists.
“In the dressing room, he is a very simple person. He is modest, helps the younger players and taught me a lot.
“It is difficult to play against him but we will do everything we can. He is very, very dangerous.
“I have had some great times with Messi. I always said he’s a dream person to play with. I am happy to have had four great years with him.”
France beat Morocco 2-0 in the semi-final and there is confidence they can deliver back-to-back World Cups for the first time since Pele’s Brazil in 1962.
Dembele said: “We are the French team, we are in a World Cup final, we are fighting for our country, the team.
BETTING SPECIAL – BEST WORLD CUP BETTING OFFERS AND FREE BETS
“The road we have been on and all the players want the French people to be proud of us. It would be great for Lionel to win but we want to win.”
Dembele is likely to start for France as part of the side’s dangerous front three alongside Olivier Giroud and Kylian Mbappe.
Messi was the man of the match in Argentina’s semi-final win over Croatia but has insisted that he knew the team was capable of reaching the final.
He said: “To see these people, the family thought the World Cup was something incredible.
“And we are where we wanted to be. We started off losing but we asked the people to stay confident with us because we knew.
“This group is crazy, we did it. It makes me think of my family.”