France attacker Ousmane Dembele has revealed that he turned down the chance to join Barcelona in 2016.
Dembele became the second-most expensive footballer in the world when he moved to Barca from Borussia Dortmund in the latter stages of the summer transfer window, signing a five-year contract with the Spanish giants.
According to the 20-year-old, he had the opportunity to join Barcelona from Ligue 1 side Rennes in the summer of 2016, but opted for Dortmund as he did not feel ready to represent the Catalan outfit.
"I'd been a professional at Rennes for just six months. Can you imagine? Just six months!" Dembele told Sport. "Of course [it was too soon].
"I wanted to learn, play Champions League games, know what that competition was, to play a whole season with a big team, playing regularly, developing... I would have learned a lot in training but it would have halted my progression. Luckily Barcelona have come back for a second time and this time I could not let the train pass."
Dembele, who is currently on international duty with France, cost Barcelona an initial £96.8m, but that figure could eventually rise to £135.5m.
Matt Law
