Dembele Vs Rodrygo? Who is a better Player?
Wingers play the most vital role in the success of any team. Just like any other role assigned to any player, this role has its own significance and importance in football. The ones who have always given their heart and soul to the game have always excelled and become the best that the world ever witnessed. The two players we will be talking about are Dembele and Rodrygo, the two popular and loved wingers of the industry who have always performed well and never disappointed their fans and club. However, when two players excellently perform in the same role, the scope for comparison increases and we see debates arising.
Dembele is 26 years old and currently plays for Ligue 1 club PSG. Being an experienced player and previously an important element of La Liga side Barcelona, he is widely appreciated and regarded as one of the best wingers of the current phase due to his ability to use both feet while playing, technical game style, speed, and dealing the one-to-one situations exceptionally well.
Born in Normandy, France, he plays for the national French football team and started playing at the age of 12 or 13 at ALM Evreux. Being an excellent ballcrosser he is often a threat to the opponents and it’s hard for them to beat him on the field.
Rodrygo, the right winger from Brazil currently plays for the La Liga club Real Madrid and also plays for the Brazilian football team. He has been an immensely passionate player from the very start of his career at Santos where he turned out to be one of the most important players of the team. We can say that he belongs to a football-familiar background as his father also played as a right winger in several tiers of Brazilian football. Starting his career with a Futsal team at the age of 10, we can clearly see that the little boy from Osasco has worked very hard. Accurately using his father’s wisdom to grow in this industry he has always been one of the finest wherever he has played.
So this comparison is going to be interesting about these two players and we will see who has better statistics and finally, who is better.
1: Player Stats
Dembele made his senior debut with Rennes in the Championnat de France Amateur in 2014 where he stepped into the field as a substitute. His entry was very profitable for the team and was widely appreciated for the very first match that he played because he helped his teammate set up the second goal to win the match by 2-0 over Guingamp. He scored his first goal 2 months after his debut and from then he never looked back in his career and kept performing exceptionally well. His first season was astonishing as he ended it with a hat trick and scored 13 total goals in 18 matches in the first season he played.
Shaking hands with Borussia Dortmund in 2016 he made his debut in the DFL Supercup. His journey with Dortmund was a very inspiring and very well-framed phase of his life as this young player successfully established himself as a good player and helped the team achieve more and more. He also won their first major title after 5 years in 2017 winning the DFB Pokal Finals. He was also awarded the Man of the Match award, made it to the Bundesliga Team of the Season and also the League’s Rookie of the Season Award.
Dembele joined Barcelona in 2017 at a reported fee of 105 million euros with 40 million worth of add-ons. He never looked back after joining Barcelona as he was consistently scoring goals in the Champions League winning the Copa del Rey title in the very first season he played with the team. He also scored the winning goal against Sevilla in the Supercopa de España to help Barcelona win their 13th Supercopa de España. After having a great spell with Barcelona he joined PSG in 2023 after Neymar’s departure.
Rodrygo started his professional career in 2017 after agreeing to a 5-year deal with Santos. He grabbed everyone’s attention after his arrival when he scored his first senior goal in January netting a last-minute winner in a 2-1 win over Ponte Preta. He made his Copa Libertadores debut in 2018 and became the youngest player at the age of 17 years from Santos to ever play in the competition. He also became the youngest Brazilian to score in the same competition at the age of 17 years. In June 2018 he did something exceptional that the Football world will always remember as the young boy scored a hat-trick and provided a crucial assist in a 5-2 home win over Vitoria.
After having a great time in this club he decided to join Real Madrid and finally reached an agreement with the club keeping him until 2025. However, the fee was not disclosed but it was rumoured to be around €45 million. In his debut match for Real Madrid, he scored a goal in the last minute and also scored his first hat trick with the crucial assist after 2 months.
At the age of 18, he scored the hat trick against Galatasaray in the 2019 UEFA Champions League season and became the second youngest to ever score a hat trick in this competition.
| Dembele | Rodrygo | |
| Games | 191 | 161 |
| Goals | 42 | 28 |
| Assists | 53 | 26 |
The difference is clear in the stats of both these players. Dembele is surely ahead of Rodrygo but we must keep this in mind that he is older than him and also started his career 2 years ahead. So we must keep this in mind but despite these factors, he has played only 30 matches more than Rodrygo but there is not a very significant difference in the number of goals. However, Dembele’s assists are more than double the amount of Rodrygo’s. But since this is a comparison the stats clearly show that Dembele has a slight edge.
2: Titles
No matter how good a player is, he can’t be considered as an asset until he shows his major contribution to the team’s winning wholeheartedly. The two players we are talking about are young right now and have got the stage to stand like a strong wall for their respective teams.
Dembele showed an insane level of capabilities in the World Cup 2022 finals becoming one of the most loved players after the tournament. Rodrygo’s foundation has been strong from the very start of his career because of the guidance of his father and a sense of team dedication was always noticed in him. It is a must that we look up to the team winning of both players and find out who stands ahead in this category.
| Dembele | Rodrygo |
| 3x La Liga | 2x La Liga |
| 2x Copa Del Rey | 1x Copa Del Rey |
| 2x Supercopa de Espana | 2x Supercopa de Espana |
| 1x DFB Pokal | 1x Champions League |
| 1x UEFA Super Cup | |
| 1x FIFA CWC |
There is not much to say and discuss about these players in this category as we can clearly see in the above-mentioned stats that Rodrygo has won more trophies than Dembele.
3: Individual Honors
One thing that we cannot forget while comparing two players is the number of individual honours they have won in their careers. This helps us carry out a much more detailed comparison and tells us more about a player. In this segment, we will be taking a look at the individual honours of Dembele and Rodrygo.
Dembele has been an immensely hard-working player and a beast on the field, sticking to his role he has been an important asset and an irreplaceable asset for the national team and the club as well. Talking about Rodrygo, the Brazilian winger has played a vital role in the various victories of his club and also in the national team. So, it would be interesting to find out which player has more honours on his name and who leads the charts.
Ousmane Dembele’s Individual Honors:
Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year
UNFP Player of the Month
UEFA Champion’s League Breakthrough XI
Bundesliga Rookie of the Season
Bundesliga Team of the Season
VDV Newcomer of the Season
Rodrygo’s Individual Honors:
Campeonato Paulista Best
2x IFFHS Men’s Youth (u-20) World Team
After comparing both the players on the number of individual honors they have earned we can clearly say that Dembele wins in this category as he has more individual honors that he has won based on his individual performance and has added value to the team.
4: International Career
The two players are very young right now and there is not a long list of events to be considered for their international career. However, they have performed satisfactorily in all the international matches that these players have played.
Dembele was called up to the senior French squad in 2016 against Italy and Belarus. He scored his first goal for France in a 3-2 friendly victory against England. His consistent performance and his unique game style and a spot in the 23-man 2018 FIFA World Cup Squad in Russia. He was also included in the 2022 FIFA World Cup team where France finished as runners-up.
Rodrygo played for the Brazilian national team for the first time in an under-17 tournament in 2017. His debut was a blast for the team and it turned out to be a very good decision to be included in the playing team as he scored two more goals against Cameroon and the United States. He was called up for the senior team in 2019 but it wasn’t a very fruitful tournament for him. He was also named for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
| Dembele | Rodrygo | |
| Games | 39 | 16 |
| Goals | 4 | 4 |
| Assists | 3 | 1 |
Both players have been performing well and they have a long career ahead left with their respective national teams. But since this is a comparison we must conclude a winner and undoubtedly Dembele is the winner in this category as he is a more experienced player and has played more international matches than the latter and has also played a World Cup final.
5: Personal Life
Dembele is a practising Muslim and is a strong believer of the muslim faith. He is married to a Moroccan woman and initiated his marriage ceremony in a very traditional Moroccan way in 2021. He is currently 26 years old and has a net worth of more than 35 million dollars. He loves playing video games and loves to spend time with his close friends. He can also be considered a fashion enthusiast as he loves to support different fashion styles and is also known for his bold reviews on the topic.
Rodrygo the young Brazilian footballer is 22 years old and has more than 5 million followers on his Instagram. His prime sources of earning and living luxurious lifestyles are his football contracts, endorsements, and many sponsorship deals. He holds the record of being the youngest athlete to be signed by Nike. He considers Cristiano Ronaldo as his idol and always wanted to be a part of Madrid’s legacy. He is currently in a relationship with famous social media star Luana Atik Lopes.
Who is the better player between Dembele and Rodrygo?
Upon comparing both the players on many aspects we have enough data to consider Dembele as the ultimate winner of this comparison. He has not played a lot more matches than Rodrygo and is also not a very experienced player but still, he was the runner-up of the 2022 FIFA World Cup and has also done some exceptional parts in his career.
Ousmane Dembele may be ahead in terms of stats but when it comes to big moments there is no comparison for Rodrygo as the football world will never forget his last-minute goals that helped Madrid win the Champions League.
Dembele is an exceptional talent who could’ve reached great heights if injuries did not exist. A rare talent who deserves to be among the best playmakers of this generation.
