Barcelona Stars Reportedly Unhappy with Ousmane Dembele 'Disciplinary Problems'

Some of Barcelona's star men are said to be concerned about the conduct of Ousmane Dembele amid reports he turned up 25 minutes late for the team's UEFA Champions League clash with Inter Milan on Wednesday.

According to Mundo Deportivo (h/t Naveen Ullal of Sport Witness) the "disciplinary problems" are being regularly showcased by Dembele have worried some of the dressing room "heavyweights" at the Camp Nou.

In addition, it's reported there has been a "divorce" between the France international and manager Ernesto Valverde following the Inter game. 

As relayed by Ullal, in Barcelona's previous La Liga fixture against Sevilla, Dembele is said to have taken 10 minutes to get himself ready to enter the match following Lionel Messi's injury, leaving his team to play with 10 men for that time.

It's also been reported by Albert Aubach of Sport that Dembele arrived late for the game against Inter. The players are said to be told to arrive two hours before kick-off, but Dembele did not make it to the Camp Nou for the 6 p.m. (BST) cutoff. 

Dembele himself has taken to Instagram to seemingly dismiss those reports though, per BarcaTimes:

Per Aubach, in the past Gerard Pique has made reference to Dembele's disregard for punctuality.

As noted by Spanish football journalist Samuel Marsden, there didn't appear to be any chance of the former Borussia Dortmund man being introduced into the game, which Barca eventually won 2-0:

Dembele became Barcelona's record signing in the summer of 2017, with the Blaugrana swooping to secure him following Neymar's departure to Paris Saint-Germain.

Although there's no questioning the talent the winger possesses, his time in Barcelona has been far from straightforward. An injury prevented him from gathering momentum early last term and since then he's not been able to find consistency on the field.

The fact Valverde turned to Rafinha for the clash against Inter on Wednesday felt significant, especially given Barca were without the attacking threat of Messi. 

While Dembele does have the ability to light up a game, he can also be frustrating to watch, as The Spanish Football Podcast alluded to earlier in the campaign:

What the 21-year-old needs to find some regularity is minutes on the field and a set position in the team. However, given the questions about his attitude and the competition for places at Barcelona, that still feels a long way off for Dembele as things stand.

Granted, these are still early days in Dembele's career and he has already gone through a lot for a player who is still so young. 

Even so, concerns about his application continue to linger and that'll be a worry for Cules who want to see their no. 11 flourish in months and years to come.