Cristiano Ronaldo did not know who Ousmane Dembele was when Barcelona signed him in the summer, and claims that he only joined the Catalan club to play with Lionel Messi.
Dembele played one full season for Rennes in Ligue 1 after graduating from the club’s academy in 2015-16 before catching the eye of Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund.
Thomas Tuchel, then in charge at Signal Iduna Park, sanctioned a five-year deal for the young France attacker in view of him leading the club’s next generation of players.
Dembele played just one season in Germany before leaving for Barcelona, however, with the Liga outfit spending €105 million for his signature with an additional €40m to be handed over in add-ons.
But Ronaldo was said to be confused as to why Barca had handed over such a significant amount of money for a player who was relatively unknown to those in Spain.
The Real star is said to have asked “who is that?” when Dembele completed his move to the capital side’s Clasico rivals, according to a report from Spanish publication Diario Gol.
He further insulted the France international, saying: “(He) comes to Barca with the mission to play for Messi, like everyone else, just like Neymar did.”
Ronaldo did, however, play against Dembele twice last season as Real defended their Champions League crown.
Real finished second to Dortmund in Group F having drawn fixtures home and away to the German club before progessing to a final showdown against Juventus which they won 4-1 in Cardiff.
Dembele has had a difficult start to life in Barcelona and made just three league appearances before suffering a hamstring injury during a meeting with Getafe on September 16.
The France star was expected to miss up to four months of first-team action but has stepped up his recovery and is looking at a return for the Clasico meeting with Real on December 23.
Real sit 10 points behind leaders Barca going into the next round of fixtures.
Source:Sports.yahoo