After bagging a hat-trick against Norway, Ousmane Dembélé appeared visibly frustrated when facing reporters. The 2025 Ballon d’Or winner has grown weary of relentless public doubts over his match sharpness, criticisms that have lingered over him throughout the entire season.
Dembélé is fond of using sarcasm to convey his feelings. Following his three-goal haul versus Norway on Friday, he stepped in front of the media with a stern expression and his gaze cast downwards, before speaking: “This is a unique and meaningful moment. Still, as I’ve said before, while today’s performance was solid, I preferred my outings against Senegal and Northern Ireland. I believe I had a far greater influence in those two games.”
The Ballon d’Or holder of 2025 did not genuinely hold that opinion; he was simply teasing the journalists with a rhetorical stunt. Prior to this fixture, Dembélé had been unsatisfied with his own output, until he netted his first major tournament goal for France against Iraq. The forward is always candid with his inner circle about both his strong and weak performances, yet he clearly struggles to tolerate the repeated negative scrutiny from outside observers.
Since the start of this year, Dembélé has endured a stream of disparaging commentary: critics claimed he was merely a one-off Ballon d’Or winner incapable of replicating that elite campaign, labelled him an inefficient attacker, questioned his fragile fitness, and debated whether he deserved a starting spot in France’s World Cup lineup early in the tournament. Nonetheless, Didier Deschamps has never wavered in his faith in Dembélé’s place in the side. All these harsh remarks, which persisted across his full season at Paris Saint-Germain, only fuelled his competitive drive, and the 2018 World Cup champion never shied away from responding to his critics on the pitch. While playing for Paris, he was seen placing a finger over his lips after scoring goals; on Friday, he made the universal “shush” gesture to silence all doubters.
On Saturday, during a brunch attended by France players and their family members, Dembélé was cheerful, playful and full of energy. Yet when he steps into the public spotlight, he has become far more reserved these days.
