Barça should've signed Mbappe instead of Dembele
Barcelona got it wrong when they signed Osumane Dembele and the really good one is Kylian Mbappe. It's easy to say that today after his incredible performance against Argentina but we wrote the same thing six months ago. Last summer the two were lined up by Barcelona: Monaco's goalscorer and Dortmund's winger. There's only five months difference between them in age, Dembele is 21 and the PSG striker is 20. The cost of the deal was similar but Robert Fernandez insisted that Barcelona needed a player with the characteristics of Dembele more.
One day we'll find out if Valverde rubberstamped the deal and if Bartomeu agreed with the high transfer fee it took to bring Dembele in. Today, we can be full of regret. Roberto has paid for his error when his contract wasn't renewed while Barcelona need to live with the aftermath of a poor business deal. There's a huge difference between the two French players. Mbappe scores goals and Dembele still needs to learn to do that. One was a starter and named man of the match, the other remained on the bench. The first is worth more than the €180m PSG paid, the second still needs to show he was worth the outlay on him.
The real merit of Mbappe's performance is that he played the game of his life when France needed him the most. He alone destroyed Argentina and directed his team to the quarter finals. He alone condemned Messi to a lesser role, in fact he portrayed the role many expected Messi to have in the match. Mbappe had the match of his dreams. He won the ball and then ran across the pitch, eventually provoking a penalty which Griezmann converted. The mark of a star with incredible pace. In the second half he scored two decisive goals which confirmed how lethal he is in the box. Technically sound, quick and intelligent. At just 20, he showed his enormous potential and became one of the stars at the World Cup. Three goals in four matches. He's the first under 21 player to score a brace at the World Cup since Pele.
Although you can never write off Argentina, they did come back from going a goal down early on, they were no match for France who had three key players. Pogba shined on the biggest stage, Griezmann became the leader of the team and Mbappe is a man with as much speed as he has class. It wouldn't surprise us to see Florentino Perez abandon his plans to bring in Neymar and instead try to sign Mbappe. He's younger, less conflictive and he's got a solid family base around him. He's going to be the star attraction of the transfer window once the World Cup has finished. Another matter is whether PSG decide to sell the player who has the brightest future in world football when their owners are already swimming in money.
