Dembélé: 'Xavi is really supportive'

Ousmane Dembélé has started the season in great form. The French winger has become a key man for Barça, contributing greatly in attack.

After resigning for the Club in July, he gave interviews to Catalan newspapers Mundo Deportivo and Sport this week, during which he discussed his relationship with Xavi, his targets for the season and the changes he had implemented over recent years.

The player confirmed he feels very good as the season begins and that this is “his best spell” since he joined the Club. A good spell that means he is “enjoying football” thanks to the “good atmosphere” in the locker room, which the Frenchman believes comes from the “boss and all his staff”.

His good relationship with Xavi was one of the key aspects of the interviews: “When he arrived, Xavi told me that I was already a great player, but that I had to have a change of mindset to become a TOP player. He wanted to me to become more rounded. That I should score and assist more", he stated.

Dembélé also explained what the Catalan coach asks of him on the pitch: “Xavi wants two wide wingers, who take people on one-on-one, provide assists, and score goals. His approach to football suits me very well”. However, when it comes to Ousmane's improvement, it is founded on changing his habits away from the pitch. The world champion revealed that he has recently been working differently to avoid injuries. “I work a lot more with physiotherapists, also with my personal physiotherapist, who I've had for almost three years, and I do a lot of work here with Carlos Nogueira. The key aspect involves off the field work, you will definitely get an injury if you don't do any off the field work, like what used to happen to me when I joined at the age of 20 years old. We also have a nutritionist in the team”, he explained.

Lastly, Barça's number 7 spoke about his targets this season, which involve “scoring a lot of goals and providing a lot of assists”. The player acknowledges that the new additions to the squad are very good and he believes that the team will have a great season. He also hopes to form a great double act with Lewandowski, who he says has already reminded him to provide him with assists this year.