Barcelona star Ousmane Dembele has donated €100,000 to his former club FC Evreux 27 to bail them out of financial crisis.
Ousmane Dembélé spent one year at Évreux FC 27 before joining Rennes at the age of 13.
Today, he donated €100,000 to the club to help them in their financial struggles. [@aem_sanson] pic.twitter.com/GnO3Gnb7ec
— Zach Lowy (@ZachLowy) February 26, 2023
Normandy-born Dembele joined the club’s youth ranks as a 12-year-old, initially playing for ALM Évreux, before they joined with Evreux FC, to from one local club in 2009.
Ousmane Dembélé (@dembouz) n’oublie pas #Évreux. Le tricolore, formé au club, a fait un don d’environ 100 000 euros à l’EFC 27. Un élan de générosité bienvenu pour tout un club, en difficulté financière depuis l’été dernier et l’accession du groupe senior en #National2.
— Alexandre Sanson (@aem_sanson) February 25, 2023
After a year of playing local football, Dembele’s prodigious talent was spotted by a host of Ligue 1 club scouts, and he opted to move to Rennes in 2010.
Ousmane Dembélé fait un don de 100.000 euros au Évreux Football Club 27, son club formateur pic.twitter.com/hmjeqJAjpY
— BFM Normandie (@BFM_Normandie) February 27, 2023
That was the platform for Dembele’s rise, with 12 goals in his debut top-flight season in 2015/16, convincing Borussia Dortmund to bring him across the border to Germany.
Ousmane Dembele wspiera finansowo Évreux Football czyli jego pierwszy klub piłkarski. Francuz przekazał im 100 000 euro, ponieważ są w poważnych problemach ekonomicznych. Prezydent klubu i burmistrz miasta podziękowali mu za ten gest. [Evreux Football Club 27] 👏 pic.twitter.com/p2AUsZkfR9
— BarcaInfo (@_BarcaInfo) February 26, 2023
His progress continued at the Signal Iduna Park, with Barcelona paying a huge €105m transfer fee to bring him to Catalonia, just 12 months later.
#Evreux #Football @_EFC27 : Ce samedi, l’Évreux FC 27 a annoncé que “Dembouz” était venu en aide à son club formateur, lui qui a été publiquement remercié par le maire de la Ville, Guy Lefrand, et le président du club de National 2, Samuel Brigantino. https://t.co/5aKN4TfrgE
— Evreuxnormandie – Deauville et Cie – ActuByWC (@EvreuxByWC) February 26, 2023
However, despite his meteoric rise, Dembele remains loyal to his local town and the club that set him on the road to professional football, and his gesture has been roundly praised by the club and the mayor, as they battle to stay afloat in the French fourth tier.