Forty-six days of chomping at the bit, the ischio recalcitrant like a cruel reminder of his battered years. On September 5, in Wroclaw, the tile fell against Ukraine, killing Ousmane Dembélé’s momentum. Once again, the body had said stop, like an ironic echo of this career where each flight was long punctuated by a fall.
For a month and a half, he watched the others run, helpless, frustrated, but never giving up. Dembélé has learned to be patient. To tame slowness, he who has only ever lived at one hundred miles an hour.
And then, this Tuesday evening, in Leverkusen, the curtain reopened, grandiose. For the first time since his Ballon d’Or, won on September 22 in Paris, Ousmane Dembélé played again in the jersey of the reigning European champion. And the 1,800 Parisian supporters who came to the Rhineland were not mistaken: the ovation lived up to expectations. Three minutes after entering the place of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, the magician of Vernon reappeared in the light.
An acceleration, an offering from Barcola, a finish with the right foot while tackling: the right, simple and clear gesture. PSG then led 6-2 in a wild match, and Dembélé, for his comeback, was the penultimate contributor (7-2).
An image like a manifesto. Dembélé is no longer this intermittent player, victim of his muscles or his doubts. It has become a certainty. An accomplished, respected, expected player. “And Ousmane Ballon d’Or! », chanted the Parisian fans, as if to salute the revenge of a tightrope walker misunderstood for too long. “He scored as he often did last year, on a pass from Barcola, and it’s nice to see this connection,” rejoices Luis Enrique. “I feel good. I tiptoed in a bit because after an injury I was not yet 100%,” Dembélé said.
His 2024-2025 season, punctuated by sublime gestures and newfound consistency, was convincing (35 goals 15 assists). Even those who still doubted had to face the facts: Dembélé’s genius was not a will-o’-the-wisp, but a lasting flame which shone again, for his 100th appearance in the Parisian jersey.
“I hope to play even more matches with PSG. As I am hungry, I am happy to celebrate my 100th match with the club.” Looking back on his absence, he highlights the wisdom that allowed him not to skip ahead. “When you are injured you want to come back quickly. But I took my time. I’m not 100% yet but I hope to be back very soon. »
In Leverkusen, he not only scored his third goal of the season. He has picked up the thread of his destiny, the one he has been weaving for a year in a Paris which, under Luis Enrique, offered him a framework, a role and a new freedom. The Spaniard knew how to channel without restricting, to direct without confining.
In a fluid system, where creativity takes precedence over repetition, Dembélé flourishes like never before. His accuracy, his sequences, his ability to make defenses dance are reminiscent of Dembélé from Rennes, the one who improvised like a jazzman. Except that from now on, the tempo is controlled, the score written to the exact note. He no longer plays to please, he just plays.
“Spaces are what we love at PSG”
For PSG, his return is a blessing. For the Blues, a promise. Because in three weeks, France will stake its global future in two decisive matches against Ukraine and then Azerbaijan. Finding Dembélé in this state means recovering much more than an attacker: it is rediscovering the spark. That dribbling that changes a match, that smile that lights up a locker room, that carelessness that once again becomes a lethal weapon.
“We started the match well and it got a little crazy with the expulsions,” he explains. Behind there were spaces and spaces, that’s what we like at PSG. We knew how to play on that. The double of desired does us good. Then we just had to unroll. »
In Leverkusen, he not only returned — he reminded the world that he was there, Ballon d’Or slung over his shoulder, his legs freed, his heart light. The time for injuries is a thing of the past. The future is being written at full speed. And Ousmane, from now on, holds the pen firmly.
