REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
Of all the many talented footballers in the world right now, Ousmane Dembele might just be the very best of them. After all, he is the current Ballon d'Or holder and is in the running to win the prize again in 2026.
The French winger was spectacular last season as he helped fire Paris Saint-Germain to their first-ever Champions League title. In 2025/26, he then helped PSG successfully defend their title, while scoring six goals at the World Cup with France in the summer.
Way back in 2013, however, he was still a teenager at Rennes, yet to play his first senior game. He was clearly an avid watcher of the sport, though, as one player caught his eye.
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Dembele Felt Future Premier League Flop Was on Fire
Ousmane Dembele
On 22 December 2013, Dembele took to social media to state just how impressed he was by a Ligue 1 star. Indeed, the French winger insisted that Florian Thauvin was on fire. As per the automatic translation feature on X, Dembele's comment read:
"F***, Thauvin is so hot, what a beast."
Via X/@dembouz
A little research shows the game in question was Marseille against Bordeaux. The Ligue 1 match ended up finishing all square at 2-2, but Thauvin looked electric throughout, and his free-kick helped set up one of the goals as his team came from 2-0 down to secure a point.
Despite his very obvious quality, however, the winger would soon move to England – joining Newcastle in 2015 – and endure a very difficult time.
Thauvin Struggled in Newcastle Amid Alan Shearer Criticism
Mandatory Credit: Action Images / Lee Smith Livepic
Thauvin played only 16 times for Newcastle, scoring just one goal. He was sent back to Marseille after just one season and then rejoined the French club permanently in 2017, with the Magpies selling him for about £5m less than what they originally paid on the deal.
Many Newcastle fans will best remember the winger for arriving at one game in a tuxedo. Club legend Alan Shearer was among those to criticise the Frenchman for his fashion choices. Thauvin later claimed that this didn't help him settle into the club, recalling:
"In England, at each home game, you need to come to the stadium in a suit. It is the tradition. But on that day, Alan Shearer violently criticised me by saying that I was making myself out to be someone that I wasn't, even though I was not the only one wearing a bowtie. "Why me again? I would like to be left alone."
Back in Marseille, Thauvin went on to rediscover his best form and was among four candidates for the Ligue 1 Player of the Season award in 2017/18, losing out to Neymar. He then bagged an impressive 16 goals in 33 games the following season before eventually leaving for Mexican side Tigres UANL in 2021.
He'd later enjoy two years in Italy with Udinese before returning to France with Lens in 2025. Now 33, the winger continues to impress and was even called up to the France squad for the first time in six years last October.