For me, Messi was PERFECT — PSG star Ousmane Dembele pays tribute to football idol

The Paris Saint-Germain forward reflected on his time at Barcelona, where he spent several seasons sharing a dressing room with the Argentine legend, and explained how that experience shaped the player he has become.

“I spent some years at Barça, and I saw some exceptional top players… one was PERFECT, Messi,” Dembele said.

"I wanted to become a complete player too: goals, assists, help the team, passes…“I am the player I wanted to become.”

Dembele joined Barcelona in 2017 as one of the most expensive teenagers in football history and played alongside Messi for four seasons before the Argentine’s departure.

Although injuries often disrupted his time at Camp Nou, the Frenchman has repeatedly credited Messi as a major influence on his development.

Dembele's departure to Paris set the tone for the next phase of his career, and despite leading the Parisians to two Champions League titles, the 29-year-old remains fond of his time in Spain.

Messi, an 8-time Ballon d'Or winner, remains the standard by which Dembele measures excellence.

Now a Ballon d’Or winner himself, the France forward has accomplished much of what he left Barcelona for, but remains incredibly indebted to Messi for those years of wisdom and learning.

Having evolved from a raw, injury-prone winger into a more complete and decisive attacker, Dembele appears satisfied that he has finally reached the level he always aspired to.