Dembele ready to ruin Messi's party

Lionel Messi's former club-mate Ousmane Dembele has warned that there would be no emotional mercy shown to the Argentina legend when Les Bleus take on Albiceleste in the World Cup final on Sunday.

The two sides met in the second round in Russia 2018, with the eventual champions edging the two-time winners 4-3 in a thrilling Round of 16 encounter.

France have only got stronger since then, bagging the UEFA Nations League the following year before making the final here in Qatar. 

Dembele, who was used sparingly in the knockout rounds four years ago, is proving his detractors wrong with fine performances in Qatar. And he is determined to give Messi, who himself is enjoying his best World Cup, no quarters in the final.

"With the great career he has had it would be good if he won the World Cup, but we also want to win it," Dembele, who played alongside Messi for four years at Barcelona, told reporters on Friday.

The final represents the last chance for Messi, now 35, to win football's greatest prize -- he has already suggested he will not play again at a World Cup.

"With the great career he has had it would be good if he won the World Cup, but we also want to win it," Dembele, who played alongside Messi for four years at Barcelona, told reporters on Friday.

Messi, at the ripe age of 35, has led the Argentine side to the final with five goals and three assists, and he stands a win away from ending the country's 36-year-wait for a world title. 

But Dembele, who spent four years alongside Messi in Barcelona, believes his team deserve the trophy as much as Messi does.

"We are France, we are fighting for our country, for our team, to finish the job after all we have done to get here.

"It is true that this is the trophy he is missing, but we are also here to make our country proud. I hope France win it," Dembele said.