Dembele, Moussa

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“He is one of the best young talents in Europe and he just missed out on the squad, he has the potential to be an iconic figure in French football”
Deschamps, France Manager on France U21, Canal+tv (2018)

Signed up during Euro 2016, Dembele was Brendan Rodgers’ first signing for the club and came just one day after England were humiliated by Iceland in a 2-1 defeat. Everyone laughed at England and then cheered at what was perceived to be a great transfer for Celtic. Dembele was quite a capture, and before even his first appearance, he was predicted to be touted for one of the major sides in the top tier in England. Rodgers turned the player’s head towards Celtic, and the club had nicked a prime talent from the under the noses of the English Premiership sides, something that had been unheard of in Scottish football over the past ten years.

He actually made his debut in the embarrassing defeat to Lincoln Red Imps, schadenfreude for the English after Iceland, and then he took a few games to adjust. Anxious to grab his first goal, he won an invaluable penalty at the death and stepped up to score the penalty v Astana in the second round of the Champions League to take us thru to another round. If he had missed?

Anyhow, he quickly settled in, and very quickly it was clear that Celtic had a steal on their hands, and came to the forefront with a bang when in the first top tier league match between Sevco and Celtic, he banged in a top-class hat-trick in a 5-1 victory at Celtic Park. He was on top of the world, and from there on he could do little wrong when in the first team. A humorous part was that ex-Sevco captain Barry Ferguson had said in his tabloid column that he saw no concern over the signing of Dembele to Celtic for Sevco, and ‘Bazza‘ was left with egg on his face.

From there on in, Dembele was a hero of a remarkable season with Celtic completing a domestic treble undefeated, a first in Scotland, and Dembele’s haul was exceptional for the quality of this goals as much as the number of goals. His pace and touch dazzled everyone. His best period was a spell in Feb/Mar 2017 with 12 goals scored in six games (two hat-tricks). He really was a major difference that created a fabulous team to watch, albeit there were many other contributors to the cause too.

Dembele as a player had an average physical build, but he had good movement both on and off the ball with pace, and had a really good touch which you just can’t teach. You either have it or not. He had real confidence with the ability to thrive on pressure in big games, not many players have that in their game. Able to make something out of nothing, you could see the potential for the long-run.

It wasn’t just domestically, as he was to quickly reach the heights across Europe after first scoring a hatrick v Sevco in our first ever league encounter with them, but then scoring twice v Man City in the Champions League, the second a fabulous control and turn with the ball. Soon after, French legend Zidane remarked: “I do like to watch the young French players and Dembele is a player I am excited about. Now he has to prove himself in Europe — he needs to show what he’s capable of.”

Season 2017/18 was frustrating as he began out the side mainly due to injury. On his return he seemed to struggle to return to his bes form but it was fair to say maybe his eye was on moving on. A cracking opening goal away v PSG saw his name in lights, but growing rumours of unrest from the player didn’t help. He wasn’t scoring as much as before, but this was actually due to hubris and a greater realisation that his eyes were on moving away. He still scored a number of goals, but not to the same level as before. Injuries seemed to reoccur, including a repeat hamstring injury. The introduction of Eduoard meant that Dembele wasn’t as vital as before, but you don’t wish to lose players of his quality.

Celtic still won a back-to-back treble, again a first in Scottish football, but more was expected in 2017/18, and he was seen as part of the problem due to his absences from injury.

Celtic weren’t as convincing in season 2017/18 as before, and partly the loss of Dembele at times, and his lesser commitment, can be attributed to the increasing concerns over the first team.

For matches v Sevco, he was a real thorn in their side. Dembele scored more goals himself against Sevco than Sevco players in total did against Celtic in his time at Celtic. He scored more against Sevco than against any other club, so was clearly a big match player. It made Dembele all the more popular. One of his best goals was his back heel which nutmegged a Sevco defender and their goalkeeper to win the game late in a one nil league cup semi final (Oct 2016). Another exceptional goal in a 3-2 victory over Sevco where he got to the end of a long pass from Scott Brown and then chipped the ball over the Sevco goalkeeper, left the Sevco commentators on Sevco TV to start blurting in incredulity: “What’s the goalie daeing Tom? What’s the goalie daeing?”, a phrase that caught on across Scottish football for parodying.

Some though would complain that he was often saving himself for the limelight, and especially in his second season could have done more, but he still performed. He scored against all comers.

Departure from Celtic
Sadly he was to leave under a bit of cloud, some saying he left a bit disrespectfully after a spat with the manager. Really this in time should be swept away and the good memories put first. Whenever he came on the field, he played very well and gave Celtic some incredible moments. Two seasons with six domestic trophies and two runs in the Champions League is a fabulous record, and he was a major part of that success. It’s a shame it did go to his head in his second season and his agents took advantage of it. He had the ability to go far in the game given the right breaks.

He left Celtic for a Scottish record of €22m fee (approx £20m), which was an incredible payout for a player Celtic had taken in for very little. Other players hopefully would take note and follow him to Celtic it was hoped to replicate his form. Also, to get £20m plus anything on top for a player who was causing some concern due to periodic repeat injuries was good going. Admittedly, at his peak the hyperbole got going that Celtic could get £40m for Dembele one day, but really the injuries and sometimes indifferent form in 2017/18 reduced those forecasts drastically.

He still scored an excellent 51 goals in 94 competitive first team games, that we couldn’t really have asked for more. His only low point was Celtic’s failings in the Champions League qualifiers in 2018/19, but he had been returning from injury and not fully ready. All else went to plan for him.

Just compare the career of ex-Celtic youngster Islam Feruz v Moussa Dembele: both were of a similar age, but Feruz dumped Celtic to go down south to Chelsea for the money before even a first team appearance, whilst Dembele made financial sacrifices to come to Celtic from down south. What a difference in the trajectories of their careers. Dembele’s career was heading high after all the exposure he had gained from playing for Celtic both domestically and in the Champions League, but Feruz’s was in the knacker yards (if not over before it had even began) and he could no longer even win a loan spell to anywhere.

One big issue was that Dembele had missed out on the French national side which won the World Cup in 2018, but that was due to the incredible amount of talent they had at their disposal. Dembele was standing out with some great goals for the U21s, and so it could be understood that he felt he needed to push forward in a major league to win international honours.

He was ambitious, and Celtic had been the best preparation move that he could ever have dreamed of. In time, in reflection he will look back very fondly at his time at Celtic and what the club had helped do for him.

We wish him the best, with the risk that Celtic could possibly face one of his future teams in opposition in European competition one day.

Post-Celtic

After leaving Celtic, over the years he spoke very well on his time at the club, and from interviews he clearly seemed to miss aspects of Celtic. He even once returned on the field to celebrate with the Celtic players after a cup final and was well received.

Despite many high moments at Lyon, the truth is that his time there did not pan out as expected.  During his time there, he was linked with a string of big money moves to major clubs such as Barcelona, Juventus, Manchester United and Arsenal, but ended up only going out on loan to Atletico Madrid in an unsuccessful stint where to the surprise of all, he failed to score.

There were rumours that the lack of a further big transfer move was partly due to certain concerns on health issues, dissuading clubs coming in for him. In 2021, whilst at Atletico Madrid, Dembele had been warming up and stretching in training before he frighteningly lost consciousness. His team-mates quickly alerted the medical staff to the situation; it was more than a minute before the striker thankfully regained consciousness and got back to his feet. A frightening experience, but thankfully quickly recovered.

Incredibly, he was to finally leave Lyon in 2023 on a free at the end of his contract, with one Lyon director unhelpfully scathing:

“We spent 22 million Euros on him and it’s been a big regret!”
Lyon director of football Vincent Ponsot (2023)

He never even managed to win a single senior cap for France, a sore point as France had managed to reach another World Cup final in 2022 (albeit losing on penalties in a classic final). For years, Deschamps (the France national sides’ manager for both those finals), had earmarked Dembele for the future:

“He has the potential to be an iconic figure in French football”
Deschamps (2018)

So the obvious question is whether Dembele had made a big mistake leaving Celtic as & when he did so? The honest answer, with the benefit of hindsight, is probably somewhere in the middle.

He moved to Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia next amongst the deluge of big name players who were chasing the money being thrown at the game by the Saudis (e.g. Ronaldo), and he was to play under ex-Sevco manager Stevie Gerrard. At at an age, which should have been his prime, he deserved a greater and more highly respected stage than this.

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Quotes

“I want to keep playing in the Champions League and keep playing in the Champions League for Celtic.”
Moussa Dembele

“What’s the Goalie Doing Tom?? WHAT’S THE GOALIE DAEING??!!!!!”
Classic commentary on SevcoTV as Dembele scored his second v Sevco in a 3-2 win (Mar 2018)

“Dembele is probably too good for this level, he is so strong physically but also he has the quality to be a playmaker as well as a goalscoring instinct, he is on the level of Mbappe and should go to the world cup”
Sylvain Ripoll (manager of the French U21s) (2018) (Lequipe)

“A lot of positives for sure, another goal for Dembele? It’s not a surprise, he is one of the best young talents in Europe and he just missed out on the squad, he has the potential to be an iconic figure in French football”
Deschamps, France Manager on France U21, Canal+tv (2018)

“From my side, I was certain I wanted to come to Lyon. Celtic needed a replacement, well, at least that was the excuse that they gave.In the end, they gave in.”
Dembele on leaving Celtic (Aug 2018)

“Celtic is a big club in Europe, with fans all over the world. I cannot thank them enough for all they have done for me.”
Moussa Dembele

“We spent EUR22mn on him and it’s been a big regret!”
Lyon director of football Vincent Ponsot on Dembele (2023)

“No matter the country on earth, there will always be @CelticFC fans! Massive community that I will always be grateful and proud to be part of . Thanks for the support and to being part of the @Ettifaq_EN family.”
Moussa Dembele now at Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia (Aug 2023)

“Everything came quick, and I had to decide with my family and friends and make sure I took the right decision for my career. Obviously, if you had told me before that I would play in Scotland then I would have said no!
But I think it was one of the best experiences of my life playing for Celtic. I enjoyed those two years and I’m still a big fan of Celtic and keep following the club every game. If you’d told me before my journey would be that great, I’d have signed straight away.”
Asked what his best moment of his career is, Dembele replied in reference to a Glasgow derby in 2016:
“My best memory was scoring three goals against Rangers. There was scoring the winner against St Etienne, scoring two in the quarter-finals (of the Champions League) for Lyon against Manchester City – there’s many of them but if I had to choose one, it would probably be the hat-trick against Rangers.”
Moussa Dembele (Oct 2024)

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Playing Career

Honours with Celtic

Domestic Treble (League, League Cup & Scottish Cup)

• 2016-17, 2017-18
  

Scottish League

• 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19

Scottish League Cup

• 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19
  

Scottish Cup

• 2016-17, 2017-18

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Pictures

• Player Pics

KDS

• First Thread (2016)

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Articles

August 2018

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