Dembele always wanted to play for Barcelona: Ex-Dortmund coach Tuchel

Former Borussia Dortmund chief coach Thomas Tuchel on Monday said French forward Ousmane Dembele's decision to leave the German football club for FC Barcelona is understandable as playing for them was always "his big goal and dream".

"Already in the first talks we held, Ousmane expressed his feeling that it is his big goal and dream to move to Barcelona," Tuchel, who parted ways with Dortmund at the end of last season, was quoted as saying by Sky Germany.

"Already in the first talks we held, Ousmane expressed his feeling that it is his big goal and dream to move to Barcelona," Tuchel said, adding that he could not comment on the actual situation ahead of the 20-year-old's move to the Catalan football powerhouse.

"I was not involved in the procedures and don't know why he did it. But you need to be wary of not being too moral."

In an interview with Die Zeit, Tuchel revealed his wife had warned him about losing his job at Dortmund, despite his belief that he could hang on to it.

"The date was in a hotel, not at the club, and I thought you never know, we might resolve the problems over a lunch," he has said.

Tuchel and his agent Olaf Meinking walked out of the hotel after only 15 minutes, with the coach sacked by CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke and sporting director Michael Zorc.

"When big personalities meet, there will be friction. And, for the love of God, I am not always the victim," Tuchel said.

Watzke also revealed to Bild am Sonntag that he was thinking of resigning from his post at the club in the case of a defeat in the DFB Pokal final against Eintracht Frankfurt, which Dortmund won 2-1.

"For the first time in my life, my batteries were flat after the last season," Watzke said. "Had we lost the cup final, I would have definitely stepped down."

--IANS

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