Barça forward Dembele: I lost a lot of time between 2017 and 2021
The winger has been speaking while on international duty with France this week
Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele recognised he lost "a lot of time" between 2017 and 2021, his first four years at Barcelona.
"Between 2017 and 2021 I lost a lot of time, almost five years of my life," he told RMC. "There was a click when Ronald Koeman arrived at Barcelona. I had ti work hard to be able to perform and feel important."
Dembele's Barça form under Xavi Hernandez this season has earned him a France recall and he is in the squad for the upcoming UEFA Nations League games against Austria and Denmark.
Dembele also spoke about his reasons for, finally, renewing hos contact with Barça this summer, signing a deal until 2024 after his previous terms had expired.
"For me, it's very important to have confidence and Xavi has given me that," he added. "We speak a lot and I feel that I can do big things, so I felt almost obliged to stay at the club. My ambition, like the whole team, is to win the Champions League."
Dembele signed for Barcelona in 2017-18 from Borussia Dortmund for €105 million plus add-ons, which could take the total cost of the deal to over €140m.
