In January, Ousmane Dembélé was on the street. Barça didn’t want him. And Xavi, as a club man that he has always been, abided by the decision taken by Joan Laporta’s management. Not only did he abide by it, but he left the French striker out of the call-up in the final days of the winter market. He did not enter the list against Athletic and Alabès, prelude to his departure. But Dembélé, stubborn and obstinate, did not accept to go through the door offered to him by the Barcelona club and now, nine months later, he left Camp Nou on Wednesday with almost 80,000 fans surrendered to his game and Xavi, the intellectual author of this change, comparing him to one of the best strikers in the world. “Ousmane is at the level of the best Neymar”, proclaimed the coach, proud that his stubbornness has worked for him.
