Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller has taken a dim view of Ousmane Dembele's decision to force a move away from the club last summer. As Barcelona panicked following the sale of Neymar to PSG, Demebele was earmarked as a replacement for the Brazilian, and the 20-year-old dug his heels and after a protracted negotiation forced a £135 million move to Spain.
Speaking to ESPN the German stopper called the manner in which the French prospect left the club "ridiculous", admitting that the way Dembele conducted himself throughout the transfer had a negative effect on the squad:
That's not the way to leave a club. It caused an unbelievable unrest and nobody could calm down.
This is a team sport - football is not tennis. He did not even take his boots [before leaving] - it's ridiculous. Before, I could not imagine that there is such a thing.
Weidenfeller went on to criticise the forward further, admonishing Dembele for being ungrateful to the club which developed his talents:
Dembele was given the opportunity to make a name for himself at Dortmund at the age of 19. Here, he developed into a player that Barcelona wanted to buy.
But instead of being grateful, he left the club, staying at home, striking and letting his team-mates down. That's just bad style - no manners.
Dembele has seen his first season at the Camp Nou blighted by injury, the forward tore his hamstring in his second appearance for the club, but did impress in the La Liga champions recent match against Villarreal, scoring two goals in a 5-1 win as the Catalan club seek to go through an entire domestic campaign undefeated.
