France star Ousmane Dembele is looking forward to facing his former Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi in the FIFA World Cup final on Sunday.
Dembele spent four years playing alongside the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner at the Camp Nou, before the latter made the switch to Paris Saint-Germain.
The two will go head-to-head in Qatar on Sunday for the biggest prize in world football, in a rematch of the 2018 round of 16 World Cup encounter.
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Dembele revealed that Messi played a key role in fine tuning his game, which included dribbling too much.
"I have had some great times with Messi. I always said he's a dream person to play with. I am happy to have four great years with him.
"In the dressing room he is a very simple person. He is modest, helps the younger players and taught me a lot. It is difficult to play against him but we will do everything we can. He is very, very dangerous.
"I was 20 when I arrived and he was amazing. I was doing lots of things like dribbling by myself so he taught me to play in a team, taught me to be more composed and to do assists.
"I think everyone wants to win the World Cup. It is true Messi has not had that trophy but we are here to represent our country and I hope it will be a really big game and I hope it is France that win.
"We are the French team, we are in a World Cup final, we are fighting for our country, the team. The road we have been on and all the players want the French people to be proud of us. It would be great for Lionel to win but we want to win."
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