FC Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele has spoken highly of his former teammate Lionel Messi ahead of the FIFA World Cup final.
Les Bleus, who are the defending champions, will be looking to become the third nation to retain the World Cup trophy after Italy and Brazil.
Meanwhile, the last time La albiceleste were crowned the world champions was in 1986 during Diego Maradona’s era.
Messi will be shouldering Argentina’s hopes in pursuit of the world’s major trophy that he narrowly missed out on winning in 2014 when his side lost 1-0 to Germany in the final in Brazil.
Messi will spare no effort to get the better of France since it will be his last dance in the World Cup.
Dembele says France must do their utmost to deprive the 35-year-old of the ball.
DEMBELE HEAPS PRAISE ON MESSI
“I have had some great times with Messi. I always said he’s a dream person to play with, I am happy to have four great years with him,” Dembele said as per Mirror.
“In the dressing room, he is a very simple person. He is modest, helps the younger players, and taught me a lot.
“It is difficult to play against him but we will do everything we can. He is very, very dangerous.
“He’s difficult to control and we’ll have to do everything we can to make sure he touches the ball as little as possible.
“I was 20 when I arrived and he was amazing. I was doing lots of things like dribbling by myself so he taught me to play in a team, taught me to be more composed and to do assists.”
Dembele didn’t hide that he would have liked to see Messi finally get his hands on the World Cup trophy.
However, the former Borussia Dortmund star says both teams want the triumph the same way.
‘EVERYONE WANTS TO WIN THE WORLD CUP’
“I think everyone wants to win the World Cup. It is true Messi has not had that trophy but we are here to represent our country and I hope it will be a really big game and I hope it is France that win,” Dembele added.
“We are the French team, we are in a World Cup final, we are fighting for our country, the team.”
“The road we have been on and all the players want the French people to be proud of us. It would be great for Lionel to win but we want to win.”
The final will take place on Sunday at Lusail Stadium with kick-off set for 17:00.
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