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Ousmane Dembele, Winchester City and the Ballon d'Or

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Ousmane Dembele's connection to Winchester City was rekindled after the Ballon d'Or ceremony, where he finished seventh. A media team member from Winchester City posted a photo on social media with Dembele in the background, wearing a Winchester shirt, and Dembele responded with emojis. The club's manager, Craig Davis, shared this story with BBC Radio Solent.

Kickjolly · AI-written · automatically reviewed · BBC Sport ↗
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Ousmane Dembele
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Kickjolly · AI-written · automatically reviewed · BBC Sport ↗

Ousmane Dembele's connection to Winchester City was rekindled after the Ballon d'Or ceremony, where he finished seventh. A media team member from Winchester City posted a photo on social media with Dembele in the background, wearing a Winchester shirt, and Dembele responded with emojis. The club's manager, Craig Davis, shared this story with BBC Radio Solent. Winchester City is an eighth-tier club in Hampshire.

Dembele's link to Winchester City originated from the Football Manager game, where he took the club on a successful journey while representing France at the 2018 World Cup. A video posted by the France national team on social media showed Dembele and Antoine Griezmann joking about bringing the World Cup to Winchester. The club's manager, Craig Davis, recalled interacting with Dembele during that time.

Winchester City currently plays in the Isthmian South Central Division and is third in the league having played 14 matches. The club has won five of their last six league games and aims to bounce back to the Southern League Premier Division One South. Manager Craig Davis is open to the idea of Dembele visiting or potentially playing for the club in the future.

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Reported
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BBC Sport ↗
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Paris Saint-Germain

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You are probably wondering where on earth this is going. But, these three entities are in fact intertwined by a virtual fairytale that has become quite a real relationship between one of the world's biggest football stars and a humble non-league club in Hampshire. The thread that stitches this story together is the popular computer game Football Manager, in which Ousmane Dembele digitally took Winchester City on a journey right to the top of the English game while representing France at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. In a video posted by the France national team, external on social media during the tournament, Dembele is seen sat on a plane with France team-mate Antoine Griezmann as they joke about bringing the World Cup to Winchester.

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