Barcelona and Real Madrid missed a trick in not signing Mousa Dembele – he was phenomenal.
That’s the view of John Arne Riise, who played alongside the retired midfielder at Fulham during the 2011/12 season.
Dembele scored 12 and assisted as many times times in the Premier League from 243 outingsBlessed with supreme dribbling skills, as well as being a physical monster and technical maestro, Dembele was one of the most gifted footballers during his time spent in England.
Having starred in the Netherlands, Fulham signed him from AZ Alkmaar in 2010, where he spent two years before being snapped up by Tottenham Hotspur.
He enjoyed seven years in north London – making 250 club appearances – before making the move to China to link up with Guangzhou City, remaining there until he retired in 2022.
And while he gets the credit from fans, teammates and those that played against him, Riise believes he was robbed of playing for an elite European team.
Riise knows all too well of what a world class player is having played alongside Steven Gerrard, Xabi Alonso, Javier Mascherano and Fernando Torres during his time at Liverpool.
While he also was a teammate of Thierry Henry at Monaco and Francesco Totti at Roma.
Riise recently joined the talkSPORT LineUp panel consisting of Jim White, Troy Deeney and Tony Bellew, where he was asked to name a five-a-side team comprised of his former teammates.
And Dembele was straight in there, although in a role many may not have predicted.
Having gone with ex-Reds teammate Pepe Reina to start between the sticks, Riise moved onto the defence, where he said: “Well, I’m going offensive, as my defender, I’m going Mousa Dembele.”
His comment at moving the player further back in the pitch shocked ex-Watford skipper Deeney, who played against the Belgian on numerous occasions.
Dembele scored seven times in 75 matches for Fulham before joining Spurs He established himself as one of the top midfielders in England during his time in north LondonTo which a laughing Riise then stated: “Because I have some players I need to put in!”
Deeney was then quick to ask Riise for his view on Dembele after labelling him as ‘one of the best midfielders’ he had ever payed against.
Waxing lyrical over the 37-year-old, the 2005 Champions League winner remarked: “I agree with you.
“I played with him at Fulham. I can’t believe he didn’t get to Barcelona, Madrid or some team like that, because he was unreal.
“That’s why I put him in my team as well, because nobody could take the ball off him.”
Riise’s inclusion of Dembele in defence saw Alonso and Gerrard named as his midfield pairing, with Henry leading the line.
Riise has insisted that Dembele was good enough to play for Barcelona and Real MadridNorwegian icon Riise isn’t the only footballer who believes Dembele was denied the chance of competing for an elite team, with Madrid centre-back Antonio Rudiger previously sharing the same view.
Former Chelsea defender Rudiger, who came up against Dembele in the 2017/18 season, said: “This guy, that he didn’t play, no disrespect to Tottenham, but that he didn’t play at a bigger club, I don’t know how. I really don’t know how, because he had everything.
“This guy, I’ve never seen someone so strong like him. He was like a wall.
“And technique, he doesn’t know pressure. You can pass him the ball, two men can be behind him, no problem.”
Meanwhile Dembele’s ex-Spurs teammate Kyle Walker labelled the player as one of the greatest he has ever competed alongside.
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