Ousmane Dembélé has declared himself fit for Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League final against Arsenal on Saturday and said that winning last year’s Ballon d’Or cannot compare to winning major honours with the Ligue 1 champions.
Dembélé, 29, had been a doubt for PSG’s clash with Arsenal after lasting just 27 minutes of the team’s final league game of the season against Paris FC two weeks ago.
The France forward was diagnosed with a calf injury — his second calf problem of the season — but the former Barcelona star says he has no concerns about his fitness as PSG aim to defend the title they won by beating Inter Milan 5-0 in Munich last year.
“I wasn’t scared about missing the final,” Dembélé told reporters. “I had a niggle [against Paris FC], so I stopped playing so I could be fit for the final.
“It has been a long season with no rest, going back to the Club World Cup, and the staff has managed that workload well.
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“But personally, I am 100% ready to play and I’m hopeful things will go well tomorrow.”
Dembélé’s eight-goal contribution to PSG’s Champions League win last season helped earn him the Ballon d’Or at the end of the year, but the France international says that winning major silverware with a team beats securing individual awards and insists that the personal success has not changed his outlook.
“It [the Ballon d’Or] didn’t really change anything — how I play or who I am,” Dembélé said.
“I have more responsibility on my shoulders now, and that comes with experience anyway, but I want to be great on the pitch in the big games and the smaller games.
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“So nothing has changed. I still have the appetite to win things with the staff and the team.
“Individual prizes get people talking, but they are secondary. I just want to win with PSG and keep the fans happy.
“We always want to be playing a Champions League final at the end of May — we won for the first time last year, a historic night for PSG, but we have since reset everything.”
