'Players' statements after matches have no value!' - Luis Enrique defends Ousmane Dembele after Ballon d'Or winner took aim at PSG team-mates following shock Rennes defeat

Enrique came to his player’s defence after Dembele let rip post-match after defeat in Rennes on Friday evening. Dembele registered his 11th goal of the season in the defeat but goals from Mousa Tamari, Esteban Lepaul and Breel Embolo ensured the home side earnt all three points, aiding their European push and leading to PSG being knocked off top spot by Lens after their 5-0 victory away at Paris FC on Saturday.

The reigning Ballon d’Or winner suggested PSG need to return to playing together for the team and stop playing for themselves, after a challenging few months which has seen the reigning European champions fail to finish in the top eight of the Champions League and succumb top spot in Ligue 1 on multiple occasions.

But Enrique argued that such comments by Dembele are only natural to be made in the heat of the moment, defending his star man and suggesting that holding onto the 28-year-old’s comments and judging him by them is neither necessary nor fair.

Enrique told reporters: “Players' statements at the end of the match have no value. None. Coaches' statements neither, but players' statements, none. I am not going to answer any questions from a player, nor respond to any statements from a player. 

“I will never allow any player to be above the club. So that's clear. The person responsible for the team is me. I will not allow any player to think they are more important than the club. Neither I, nor the sporting director, nor the president, nor the club. So, these statements are worthless. They are the result of anger after a match, and I think that’s clear. We have nothing to lose.”

This comes after Dembele had told reporters post-match after the defeat on Friday: “We got off to a bad start in the match, and I also think Rennes played a very good game. But I think we need to show more desire. 

“We have to play for Paris Saint-Germain to win matches, because if we play on our own on the field, it won't work, we won't win the titles we want. Last season, we put the club first, before thinking about ourselves, and I think we need to get back to that, especially in matches like these. We're in the second half of the season, and it's Paris Saint-Germain that should come first, not individual players. We have to play for the club instead of thinking about ourselves.”

Dembele has had a stop-start season due to injury but has returned to his devastating best of late, scoring six goals in his last six Ligue 1 matches amidst a run of seven successive victories until Friday’s defeat.

There is no doubt that the campaign will have been a frustrating one for the France international, who won the Ballon d’Or in September in a momentous achievement which was followed by months of recurring injury issues on the pitch.

PSG have struggled to match the heights of last season thus far but considering their late surge to glory in the Champions League last season, where they peaked in the knock-out stages, all is still yet to play for both domestically and in Europe.

The Parisian giants face the first leg of their Champions League knockout play-off round away at domestic rivals Monaco on Tuesday night, with the return leg eight days later as they look to reach the last 16 for the 14th successive season.