Ousmane Dembélé (foto: Twitter)
Ousmane Dembele will miss PSG's clash with Lille, officially for rest, but Daniel Riolo claims the decision could point to tensions with Luis Enrique.
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Ousmane Dembele will miss Paris Saint-Germain's next Ligue 1 match against Lille after receiving several days off, but the decision has already generated speculation in France about his relationship with
Luis Enrique.
PSG's official explanation is straightforward.
The club say Luis Enrique and the sporting department led by Luis Campos jointly decided that Dembele needed a period of rest following a demanding summer.
The France international is expected to return to training on Monday.
On the surface, there is little unusual about the decision. Dembele gradually returned to competitive action during the summer, featured in the European and French Super Cups and started PSG's league match against Rennes.
What happened during that game, however, has fuelled questions about the timing of his break.
Luis Enrique substituted Dembele at half-time
PSG endured a difficult opening half against Rennes and went into the interval trailing 2-0.
Luis Enrique reacted immediately.
Dembele and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia did not return for the second half, with the PSG coach making changes that eventually helped his side recover to draw 2-2.
Ferran Torres proved particularly influential, scoring both PSG goals and putting himself in contention to start in Dembele's place against Lille.
Luis Enrique subsequently delivered a pointed message about competition and standards within his squad.
"We haven't won anything yet. If you think you've already won everything, you won't win anything. There is no credit here. Every day, in every training session and every match, you have to prove that you're ready," the PSG coach said.
He did not publicly identify Dembele as the target of those comments.
However, the combination of the half-time substitution, those remarks and the subsequent decision to give Dembele several days away from the squad has attracted attention in France.
Riolo: "It looks like some kind of punishment"
Prominent French journalist Daniel Riolo has openly questioned PSG's explanation. Riolo believes there could be more behind Dembele's absence than physical recovery.
"There is a problem between Dembele and PSG. This week of rest looks like some kind of punishment," Riolo said.
He also considers PSG's decision to publicly clarify when Dembele will return to training significant.
"The simple fact that PSG issued a statement and stressed that he will only resume training on Monday shows that this isn't just about rest," he added.
Riolo also claimed that Dembele had been particularly determined to play regularly from the beginning of the season.
According to the journalist, the attacker worked specifically during his holiday to ensure he would return in condition to play immediately.
That makes the decision to remove him from the squad particularly interesting from Riolo's perspective.
Could the situation eventually affect Dembele's future?
Riolo has gone further than simply suggesting that Luis Enrique is unhappy with the player.
He believes the situation could represent the first significant tension between Dembele and Luis Enrique and even refused to rule out an unexpected development before the transfer situation is settled.
"I'm not ruling out a departure either. If that happened, I wouldn't fall off my chair," Riolo said.
For now, however, there is an important distinction between what PSG have confirmed and what is being suggested externally.
PSG say Dembele is resting
There has been no confirmation from the club, Luis Enrique or Dembele that the player has received a disciplinary sanction, fallen out with his coach or asked to leave.
The next important moment should therefore come on Monday. If Dembele returns to training as scheduled and quickly regains his place, the episode may prove to have been little more than carefully managed recovery.
If the situation continues, however, the questions surrounding his relationship with Luis Enrique will inevitably become louder.