Ousmane Dembélé (foto: Getty Images)
Juanfer Quintero shares amusing anecdotes about playing with Ousmane Dembélé at Rennes, calling the French winger one of the most talented players he’s ever seen.
Colombian midfielder Juan Fernando Quintero, currently with Racing and fresh off winning the Copa Sudamericana, recently shared his memories of playing alongside Ousmane Dembélé at Rennes in 2015. At the time, Quintero was on loan from Porto, while Dembélé was emerging as a star from Rennes’ academy.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, JF10TV, Quintero recalled their first interaction, which was anything but ordinary. "‘Watch out, this guy is a phenomenon. You don’t know what he’s capable of. He hasn’t shown up for 15 days,’ my Brazilian teammate Pedro Henrique told me. Then the coach came in and said, ‘Guys, here’s Ousmane Dembélé. He’s going to apologize to you. Listen to him.’"
Quintero continued with a laugh: "Dembélé stood in front of us and said, ‘I want to apologize to all of you, but not to the coach.’ Everyone started laughing, and then he added, ‘I apologize to you, but not to the coach because I wanted to leave. I’ve already renewed my contract, but I know that in a year I’ll be gone. I have a clause until June 20, so I’m leaving before June 20. I apologize to all of you, but I wanted to leave. Thanks.’"
Quintero admitted that after those bold words, he couldn’t help but admire the French winger.
The former River Plate player didn’t hold back in praising Dembélé’s natural ability: "My friend, I’ve never seen anyone so talented in my life. I’ve seen Messi, and he’s on another level, but Dembélé... It’s impossible for a 17-year-old to kick with both feet like that, to have that personality... I’ve never seen anyone like him. That guy is crazy."