According to Borussia Dortmund, Dembele disappeared for three days
Borussia Dortmund's former translator, in an exclusive interview with 'Goal' and 'SPOX' gives more details about Ousmane Dembele's controversial character.
"Everybody came to me and asked me where he was. But I didn't know either. I tried to communicate with him and his cousin. It was in vain," revealed Massimo Mariotti, now at Schalke 04.
This 'disappearance' of Ousmane Dembele was in the period when Barcelona wanted the footballer. In this way the French player was doing everything he could to make sure that Barcelona signed him. In the summer of 2017 Barca paid 105 million plus 40 million in bonus for the talented French attacker.
"We couldn't locate Ousmane or his cousin for three days. I assumed then that he would not be in Dortmund. I went to his house and discovered that he had gone to France with his mother in the morning," says Mariotti.
"Ousmane left overnight and I was the only one who had contact with him later. I told him that he had to come back, so that we could talk about things and that he had to explain himselft to Borussia Dortmund, he had to behave professionally. But it was too late for that," he lamented in 'Goal' and 'SPOX'.
Massimo Mariotti, however, assured that the footballer lived a healthy life during his time at Dortmund, "His lifestyle was good enough to allow him to perform well with the team," he said.
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The translator became a trusted man for the Barcelona striker. "Tuchel talked to him almost every day. He said to me: 'Massimo, we need him, he's incredibly good. Take care of him," recalls Mariotti.
"He was never alone, his cousin and his best friend lived with him. His mother came again and again. Ousmane was very young and needed a lot of support. They were completely overwhelmed," he points out.
Dembele was accused of leaving Dortmund with the house in which he lived destroyed and full of flaws. In fact, according to 'Bild', he was even fined: "That's not true. His adviser had asked me to go to his house and take pictures. I did it after he moved in and I photographed everything there. I picked up the keys and took them to the owner. I didn't see any trash. The house was in top condition and he didn't lose his deposit. He even got it back".