Ousmane Dembélé grew up in Normandy and broke through at Rennes before moving to Borussia Dortmund in 2016. One outstanding season in Germany persuaded Barcelona to pay more than €100 million for him in 2017.
His six years at Barcelona were interrupted by injuries, but he won several league titles and was part of France’s 2018 World Cup-winning squad. He joined Paris Saint-Germain in 2023, and under Luis Enrique he was moved from the wing into a central attacking role. The change transformed him into a prolific goalscorer.
In 2024/25 Dembélé scored more than 30 goals as PSG won Ligue 1 and the Champions League, and he won the 2025 Ballon d’Or. He is one of the few genuinely two-footed forwards at the top level.
Playing style
Dembélé is one of the few genuinely two-footed attackers at the top level: he shoots, crosses and dribbles equally well with either foot, which makes him almost impossible to show one way. For most of his career he played on the wing, where his speed and trickery made him dangerous but inconsistent. Luis Enrique’s decision to use him as a central forward, dropping deep to link play and then attacking the box, transformed him into a prolific scorer. His pressing from the front also set the tone for PSG’s intense defensive style. His 2024/25 season, crowned by the Ballon d’Or, was the best of his career.
International career
Dembélé made his France debut in 2016 and won the 2018 World Cup. He played at Euro 2020, the 2022 World Cup, where France reached the final, and Euro 2024, where they reached the semi-finals. He has become one of the senior figures in the France team.
Career in numbers
Across 12 seasons of senior club football, beginning in 2015/16, Dembélé has played 406 matches and scored 125 goals for 4 clubs. His most productive season in front of goal was 2024/25, when he scored 35 times in 53 games for Paris Saint-Germain. So far in 2026/27 he has 2 goals in 7 appearances for Paris Saint-Germain. The full season-by-season record is in the Stats section of this profile.