Ousmane Dembélé is near completing his move to Paris Saint-Germain. as the winger returns to France. Manager Xavi Hernandez and midfielder Pedri already weighed in on the reported exit, but the team’s captain, Sergi Roberto, also spoke on the situation.
Roberto spoke with reporters after the final friendly of the summer tour in the United States against AC Milan on Sunday. The defender noted the sadness he has to see the winger leave.
“It’s a shame because he’s a very important player for us,” Roberto said (h/t Paris Fans). “We would have liked him to continue because he was with us for many years and he was a player who was very dear to the team. We all let him know. He made another decision… We’re sad to see him go, but we have to keep going. We have a great team and today we showed that we can compete with anyone.
“We are a little disappointed. When you love someone and want them to be with you, it’s a little disappointing when they decide to go somewhere else. It’s a job and everyone decides what’s best for them, for their career and for their family. He will have his reasons, but we have given him everything here and he knows he is an important player for us.”
Dembélé reportedly has his reasons for wanting out of Camp Nou and heading to the French capital. The forward was also probably sold by the project that new manager Luis Enrique presented to him.
The 26-year-old will likely explain why this summer was the right time to leave Barcelona. However, many probably will ask about how he’s doing so as the Spanish side only receives €25 million of the €50 million. Still, they might choose to fight that.
Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see what he says whenever Dembélé tells all about the transfer details to PSG.