PARIS :Paris St Germain forward Ousmane Dembele got a roaring welcome usually reserved for tennis champions when he carried the freshly-won Champions League trophy onto centre court on Monday.
The French soccer club beat Inter Milan 5-0 in the showcase match in Munich on Saturday to clinch the trophy for the first time before the players and staff got a heroes’ welcome in the French capital on Sunday.
The festivities for Dembele, who was voted the Champions League Player of the Season, continued on Monday when he carried the shiny trophy onto Court Philippe Chatrier in front of more than 10,000 people.
He was wearing a white t-shirt with the word “triumph” written on it.
Organisers could not have timed the brief ceremony better, with Europe’s most prestigious soccer club trophy arriving minutes after world number 361 and wild card Lois Boisson of France stunned third-seeded American Jessica Pegula in three sets to reach the last eight in the upset of the tournament.
“Ici c’est Paris, (This is Paris)” shouted Dembele as the normally more reserved afternoon tennis crowd erupted with cheers.
“Exceptional, it was a magic moment in Munich. We played an exceptional season and were rewarded with our first European Cup,” France international Dembele told the crowd.
“The individual titles are fine but it is the collective titles that matter. We will try to win as many titles as possible.”
PSG are only the second French side to win the European Cup after Olympique de Marseille in 1993.
