The news of Ousmane Dembele’s potential transfer from FC Barcelona to PSG has come as a bombshell, and the Frenchman is featured in almost every piece of news associated with the Catalan club.
This move was also one of the subjects that Barcelona captain, Sergi Roberto, touched upon while talking to the media in the mixed zone after the 1-0 win against AC Milan.
As SPORT has reported his comments, Roberto was unhappy with Dembele leaving the club, but was also confident that the Catalan club will keep on moving forward with or without any individual player:
“It’s a shame. He’s a very important player for us. We would have liked him to stay with us; he’s been with us for many years, and he’s a beloved player. But we have to move on; we have great players, and we can compete with any team, as we saw today.”
Roberto further shared his feelings on the situation:
“We are disappointed. When you want someone, it’s sad when they choose another option. In the end, everyone decides what’s best for them. He knows he was a very important player for us, and we gave him everything. I wish him all the best.”
The media representatives kept pushing the Barcelona captain to provide more details about the transfer. One of the questions they raised was whether the Frenchman had given any indications that he might be leaving the club in the coming days. To this, Roberto responded:
“He’s not a player who talks much. We were reading about his departure, and we also didn’t know what decision he had made. I wish him all the best; he’s a good teammate and friend. We wanted him to stay, but it couldn’t happen. Until the rumors started, I couldn’t quite believe it. He was very happy at Barça, and we had no idea.”
Roberto himself has been a La Masia graduate, and right now, there are a number of players who graduated from the Barcelona academy and gave a good performance for Barcelona in the Milan match. Regarding these players, Roberto commented:
“They all performed very well. It’s incredible to have such talented players from our own academy. Barça has shown great trust in La Masía; we have fantastic players for the future. They need to keep working, and I would keep all of them if I could.”
Sergi Roberto and the rest of the Barcelona squad will now return to Spain and start preparations for the Joan Gamper trophy and the start of La Liga as they have already played the last match scheduled in their US tour.
