Arya News - The race for this season’s Ballon d’Or appears to be between Ousmane Dembele and Lamine Yamal, and the two players have an ironical connection.Dembele was Barcelona’s long-term bet for the right...
He then stated how the season ended well for the club despite all the setbacks.
“And, even so, it ended up being a fantastic year. The only thing that really hurt us was the elimination against Roma because we had real options to compete to be European champions.”
The former administrator was then asked if Barcelona did everything in their capacity to ensure Neymar stayed, and he openly admitted that there was not much more that they could have done than what they attempted.
“In every way. But when a player is good and great, he decides. There’s nothing to do, forget it. It’s always a decision of the player. If you are good, choose where you want to go and when.”
“He who is not good cannot decide, because he does not have that capacity. Neymar decided to go where he wanted and when he wanted. And sometimes you can do nothing,” he added.
On Dembele and his treatment at Barcelona
Barcelona plunged into a state of panic after Neymar’s departure and looked for high-quality replacements irrespective of the price. Fernandez, however, admitted that Kylian Mbappe was never an option.
“No, not Mbappe. He wanted to go to Madrid. Those are bar counter comments.”
“In Barcelona, we already know how this works: there is a group of journalists who stir these things because, if we don’t talk about that, what are we talking about? We would be bored,” he added.
Dembele is in the UCL final and is a contender for Ballon d’Or. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Eventually, Barcelona signed Ousmane Dembele as the chosen one to replace Neymar, but the Frenchman never really got going and faced a serious struggle with his fitness.
However, Fernandez was critical of the treatment that the French attacker was handed during his time at Barça.
“No one was patient. Not the press, not the club, and he was too young to understand many things. That’s the reality. But he’s taught us all a lesson. He already taught it to us in his last year at Barça,” said Fernandez.
“Everything that was said – that he wasn’t a good professional, that he went out at night, that he drank… wasn’t true. After two very serious injuries, in a very difficult environment, he showed that he was a great professional.,” he added.
Praising Dembele’s commitment to the badge despite all that was said in the media about him, the former club member said,
“Another player, at his age, would have thrown in the towel. But he didn’t. He kept working, recovered, played very well with Xavi, and was highly rated by him. He’s doing very well now. He’s given us all a slap in the face.”
“And I’m very happy that he’s doing well. He is a very good boy, and he has been a great professional. Overcoming two serious injuries and getting out of such a complicated context is not just anyone’s do. He is 28 years old, a magnificent age,” he added.
Fernandez also confirmed that Barcelona did not lose any money on the Dembele transfer with respect to amortisation considerations.
“But Barça didn’t lose money with Dembele, because of the amortization.”
Source: Mundo Deportivo