Borussia Dortmund defender, Sokratis Papastathopoulos says Ousmane Dembele should follow Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s example amid Barcelona interest.
Sokratis said that Dembele is not bigger than the club, urging his colleague to follow the example of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
“Ousmane is a good guy. But he has to understand that no player is bigger than the team,” he told Kicker. “Everyone has to understand that he has to work for the team and fall in line. This also applies to Ousmane.
The Bundesliga club suspended the 20-year-old last week after he missed training without permission.
Sokratis says the situation of Aubameyang, who has also regularly been linked with a move away, is one Dembele should look to as an example of how to behave in such a scenario.
Dortmund have turned down an offer from Barcelona for the French forward, who is being targeted as a replacement for Neymar.
The 29-year-old said, “Ousmane has given us very much. He is a player who makes the difference. We need players like this.”
“But we also need players who don’t exclude themselves and who want to be part of our family. Apparently Ousmane doesn’t want that.”
“He can’t do whatever he wants and should take Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as an example. Auba also could imagine leaving. But he behaves professionally in every training session and every game and gives his best.”
Asked whether he could see Dembele returning to the fold, Sokratis added: “At first he has to get in touch with us and come to training again. Then we will see,” he concluded.
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