'I said I would stay at Barcelona' - Ousmane Dembele explains how PSG transfer came to fruition and insists he is 'sleeping very well' amid goalless start to life at Parc des Princes

Ousmane Dembele admitted that he agreed to stay at Barcelona before Paris Saint-Germain came calling while opening up on his slow start at the club.

Dembele was set to stay at Barcelona
PSG swooped in to get him onboard
Forward remains calm despite troubled start

WHAT HAPPENED? The reigning Ligue 1 champions completed the transfer of Dembele after activating a "private" clausein his contract which restricted his price to €50.4 million (£43m/$55m) in the summer. Although the Catalan club wanted to hold on to him, as Xavi viewed the winger as integral to his plans, the forward had a change of heart when Paris Saint-Germain expressed their intention to bring him to the Parc des Princes.

WHAT THEY SAID: "Indeed, I said I would stay at Barcelona, but after contacts with PSG I was convinced to leave,” he said in an interview withL’Equipe. Dembele also insisted that Kylian Mbappe had no role in his transfer, adding: "Kylian did not try to convince me, I came to Paris because I love the club, it is a French club and I love it. I come from Evreux, not far from here. Everyone here talks about Paris Saint-Germain. It was written that one day I would sign for this club. I have many friends, supporters of the club, who always tried to convince me to come. Was it easy to choose after my best months at Barcelona? I wanted to sign for PSG.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Dembele has struggled tolive up to the billing in his new club and is yet to find the net after making 13 appearances for the Parisians. Nonetheless, the 26-year-old has insisted that he is not losing sleep over his barren run and remains confident in his abilities.

“I don’t judge my performances by the goals I score. You can score a goal and play a bad game and you can not score and still be very good,” Dembele said. “I will improve my stats. I sleep very well at night and I always trust myself. Even when it doesn’t work out, I try again.”

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