Ousmane Dembélé, as a good friend and teammate of Kylian Mbappé, has told him that Lionel Messi is closely following all the progress he is making. This was revealed by the PSG striker in an interview with France Football when he spoke about his attempt to win the Ballon D'Or.
Taking advantage of Neymar's minor appearances during the season, his team-mate tried his hardest to win the trophy for best player in the world. However, he had a lot of competition ahead of him and his stunning season was not enough to win him the top spot.
"I wanted to go for that trophy, but there was Messi. I scored two, he scored three, I scored three, he scored four... It was so incredible that I talked to Ousmane (Dembélé) about it: "It can't be: does he do it on purpose or what? Is he looking at the goals I score?" said Mbappe in an interview to France Football.
His countryman's response was clear: "Of course he does. "I thought: 'Messi's watching me... It's flattering to have a player like him watching you." Dembélé's tip-off makes it clear that the Argentinian is keeping a close eye on his competitors.
In any case, he will enjoy a new opportunity in the next year. At 21, he has practically his entire career ahead of him, while Leo is already a consolidated star who does not have so many years of football left: it could be the Frenchman's chance.