Kylian Mbappé
- Thread starter Xavinho
- Start date
Plus he wanted higher wages and cost 50% more than Dembélé. He also wasn't a clear Neymar replacement like Dembélé who was a winger.
And at the time Dembélé and Mbappé were considered kind of equal talent wise. Dembouz had just had a great season in the Bundesliga and Mbappé in Ligue 1.
In hindsight, yes, we should've bought Mbappé. But at the time a lot of factors pointed in Dembélé's favour, so nobody can actually be blamed for this.
And at the time Dembélé and Mbappé were considered kind of equal talent wise. Dembouz had just had a great season in the Bundesliga and Mbappé in Ligue 1.
In hindsight, yes, we should've bought Mbappé. But at the time a lot of factors pointed in Dembélé's favour, so nobody can actually be blamed for this.
El Gato
Villarato!
It was quite difficult to understand how one was rated as 'kind of equal' to the other. Mbappé's decisiveness and pure brute force won Monaco a league title vs sheikhs and beat Dembélé's BVB in a direct CL meeting in both fixtures and it's not as if that Dortmund side was significantly weaker. I always thought Dembélé being ambidextrous is the only reason for his relevance in the conversation.
Mbappé was a bit ahead in the terms of achievements and development. But they were both seen as potential world class players, in their own ways.
Dembélé showed at Dortmund he could be a playmaker as well as a lightning fast winger, apart from the ambidexterity.
If it was so clear back in 2017 there wouldn't have been a Mbappé vs Dembélé discussion.
FinBarcelonafan
Well-known member
I think both had fairly similar stats. Dembele a bit worse but very close.
He would be useful for us at well, hes just injured. Always.
El Gato
Villarato!
And we can speculate how much of that is due to it being Barcelona where training seems to be a problem. Wonder how that compares to a place where people do things differently/seriously like Liverpool where players, bar Shaqiri and Keita, don't get injured when they're without match rhythm.
El Gato
Villarato!
It probably is a combination of both. Difficult to imagine that his fitness going to shit after he joined the club is more to do with his own responsibility than that of the club, its training culture and physical preparation. Support network at Barcelona seems excruciatingly poor since only several experienced or hellbent determined players who are mentally prepared to take care of themselves do not have training issues i.e. Messi, De Jong, even though it's early - Braithwaite.
I'd just like to see him in a different environment. Being a member of this locker room clearly has zero merits and the leaders hardly nurture the new blood. Took ages for Semedo to adjust. Arthur only did so, because he's a bit dim and aloof like Brazillians are and doesn't seem to be bothered with these things. Dembélé case stands in stark contrast in terms of development to that of Jović for instance where Luka was neglected, but seems to sulk like hell instead of having a positive mindset despite never being injured.
I'd just like to see him in a different environment. Being a member of this locker room clearly has zero merits and the leaders hardly nurture the new blood. Took ages for Semedo to adjust. Arthur only did so, because he's a bit dim and aloof like Brazillians are and doesn't seem to be bothered with these things. Dembélé case stands in stark contrast in terms of development to that of Jović for instance where Luka was neglected, but seems to sulk like hell instead of having a positive mindset despite never being injured.
El Gato
Villarato!
If you were to compare injuries like for like, sure. But we all know why Hazard is injured. We don't exactly know why Dembélé's luck is as rotten as it is. We can only factor what we know about the environment i.e. that in Madrid half the team is licking their wounds (25? injuries) by the end October because of freak like fitness schedule set to bring break players in early and bring profits in spring (which it has been, ever since 2016/17 with different coaches overseeing prep but ultimately with same results) + that Hazard came back fat after he won EL and got his dream move so more susceptible to getting hurt. Compare that with Barcelona where your director, if you believe his words but I dont think he'd have reason to lie about that, attests to bad fitness prep and words of unhappiness about lack of discipline in training from various parts of the locker room.
If you were to compare him to anyone, take a known delicate soul, I'd look to Bale. But while Dembélé's problems are serious, Bale is just a scared pony most times that is rarely legitimately unable to run, just doesn't want to take a risk.
If you were to compare him to anyone, take a known delicate soul, I'd look to Bale. But while Dembélé's problems are serious, Bale is just a scared pony most times that is rarely legitimately unable to run, just doesn't want to take a risk.
My point is its easy to jump the gun. Dembeles injury record could have been dumb luck for Rennes/Dortmund or he misstepped in a game for us - or we really fucked him trainingwise. Who knows. I just find it incredibly difficult to form an educated opinion on stuff like that.
FinBarcelonafan
Well-known member
And we know he had poor diet before and didn't put in the effort stretching etc. First injuries mostly his own dojngs.
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