Lionel Messi. Zlatan Ibrahimović. Ronaldinho. Edinson Cavani. Ángel Di María. Just a handful of players that have suited up for Paris Saint-Germain this century.

By Zach Lowy

Each have marked an era in football and staked their claim as an all-time great, but none have been able to score three goals on two consecutive occasions in a Rouge-et-Bleu kit. That honour belongs to Ousmane Dembélé, who became the first player in PSG history to score back-to-back hat-tricks last Saturday.

It has been nine years since Dembélé burst onto the scene for Rennes, quickly emerging as one of the finest talents in Europe and earning a transfer to Borussia Dortmund. He excelled in Germany and was named the Bundesliga Rookie of the Season, whilst he also spearheaded BVB to their first trophy in five years with a Man of the Match performance in the 2017 DFB-Pokal Final.

This piqued the interest of Barcelona, who splurged a club-record €105 million plus €40 million in bonuses to sign the French winger. Dembélé, however, never came close to justifying Barcelona’s outlay due to persistent injury problems and frustrating decision-making, before departing in 2023 as one of the worst signings in the club’s history. Six years after replacing Neymar Jr. at Barcelona, he was now tasked with replacing Neymar at PSG.

Dembélé thrived on the biggest of stages, scoring in both legs vs. Barcelona to confirm PSG’s spot in the UEFA Champions League semifinals and breaking the deadlock in PSG’s 2-1 win vs. Lyon in the Coupe de France Final. And although he didn’t quite manage to fulfil expectations, racking up 6 goals and 13 assists in 42 appearances in 2023/24, he’s been able to take his game to the next level and emerge as PSG’s attacking talisman following Kylian Mbappé’s exit to Real Madrid.

There have been various ramifications from Mbappé’s exit. For one, PSG have gone from concentrating their attacks around the left flank to the right side, where Dembélé is mainly utilised. No longer reliant on one player to bang in the goals, PSG have transformed into a more fluid setup that’s predicated upon aggressive pressing.

“Mbappé’s absence has allowed PSG to win the ball back quicker and higher up the pitch, and that’s going to benefit Dembélé who can be there to pounce,” stated Luke Entwistle, the editor-in-chief of Get French Football News. “If he’s not winning the ball back, then his teammates are winning it and feeding him the ball in dangerous areas.”

PSG planned in advance of Mbappé’s exit by signing two of Europe’s most promising young strikers for a combined €165m (bonuses included) in the summer of 2023. However, with neither Randal Kolo Muani (since loaned out to Juventus) nor Gonçalo Ramos adjusting to Luis Enrique’s in-possession demands, the Spaniard has opted to go with a false 9 like Marco Asensio (since loaned out to Aston Villa), Kang-in Lee, or even Dembélé. 

Dembélé’s technical quality has never been in doubt; it’s his goal-scoring ability that’s always come under scrutiny. Fans have grown accustomed to seeing him eliminate multiple opponents with a body feint before blasting his shot into Row Z. For a player who’s often struggled with the paradox of his abundance, and who, by his own admission, doesn’t know whether he’s better on his right foot or left, he can now keep things simple and pull the trigger before he has the chance to overthink it. Whereas in previous years, Dembélé would’ve had to wriggle past a sea of opponents and gradually make his way from the right to the middle, he’s regularly receiving in central areas, where he can allow his poaching instincts to take over.

His combination of speed, close control, and unpredictability make him a defender’s nightmare: show him outside, and he’ll use his 1v1 skills to evade the fullback and accelerate towards goal. Show him inside, and he’ll blast a ferocious shot towards or goal or provide a teammate with a flawless pass. It also helps that he’s formulated a lethal partnership with Achraf Hakimi down the right flank, with the Moroccan capable of bombing forward and allowing Ousmane to invert into the half-spaces.

“Ousmane’s role changes depending on the game,” said The Athletic journalist Alex Barker. “He’s been used as a touchline-hugging right winger an inside forward, a false 9, and in midfield. If Hakimi is playing at right back, Dembélé can drift everywhere. If it’s Warren Zaïre-Emery, it’s more likely Dembélé will be used to hold width. He has thrived more in tight spaces in central areas, using his incredible footwork to go directly at defensive midfielders and centre backs.”

Even when Dembélé was enduring a cumbersome start to his PSG career, Enrique threw his support behind the am-bipedal winger, stating: “He’s the most destabilising player in the world.” Today, though, he’s brimming with confidence, and the goals are starting to flow. With the exception of PSG’s match vs. Lens in the Coupe de France, Ousmane has scored in eight of his last nine fixtures.

Prior to this season, Ousmane’s previous career-best goal tally came in 2018/19, when he scored 14 goals in 42 appearances for Barcelona. He’s scored 14 goals in those last nine matches alone (19 across all competitions this season), and he has catapulted himself to the top of the Ligue 1 scoring charts after a sensational run of form.

At 27 years of age, it seems Dembélé is finally putting two and two together and living up to his world-class potential. He’s still capable of cutting through defences like butter with an impeccable pass and contriving a gilt-edged opportunity; in fact, only Rayan Cherki (0.59) is registering more Expected Assists per 90 in Ligue 1 than Dembélé (0.41). But now, he’s emerging as a high-volume shooter who finds the back of the net more often than not, and with 11 goals in six matches, he has scored the most goals of any player in 2025. The only question is – is this merely a purple patch, or the start of something new?

More than a few teams have suffered Ousmane’s wrath in recent months, including AS Monaco. Ousmane scored a brace against them on December 18 before scoring a 92nd-minute winner in the Trophée des Champions on January 5, and after being rested for their midweek cup tie vs. Le Mans, he’ll be looking to continue his scintillating form vs. the principality side.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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