Leicester City’s unprecedented Premier League title win in 2016 will be a story told for the rest of time in the footballing world.
Leicester were in a relegation battle the season prior and had to pull off a miraculous great escape to avoid dropping down to the Championship.
So to go on and amass 81 points the year after, losing just three games all season, was a truly remarkable and unheard-of achievement.
It garnered the media’s attention all over the world but it also meant many of City’s star players were linked with moves away.
N’Golo Kante was the only major departure as he left for Chelsea, whilst Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy stayed put.
Leicester were keen to strengthen in the summer window and Claudio Ranieri did hold talks with a talented wide player on the continent, but he ultimately rejected a move to the East Midlands and signed for Barcelona the following year.
Ousmane Dembele rejected Leicester before mega-money move to Barcelona
Following Leicester’s title win, the club launched an ambitious move to sign then Stade Rennais winger Ousmane Dembele.
The talented Frenchman was 19 at the time and fresh off the back of a sensational season in Ligue 1, netting 12 times whilst laying on five assists.
Though, despite a phone call with manager Claudio Ranieri, Dembele decided to turn down a move to the Foxes.
“I had Claudio Ranieri on the phone. I was surprised to hear from him but I told him I will not be going to Leicester,” he told Ouest-France.
The teenager opted for a move to Borussia Dortmund instead and after one season in Germany, registering 30 goal involvements, he completed a record-breaking £135m move to Barcelona in 2017.
Dembele reborn at Paris Saint-Germain
Dembele endured a rather inconsistent time at Barcelona but he’s now enjoying perhaps the best football of his career at Paris Saint-Germain.
The World Cup winner has already netted a whopping 23 goals in 28 games this term and is the top scorer in Ligue 1.
Dembele has taken the superstar role in Paris since Kylian Mbappe’s departure to Real Madrid and is now considered among the best players on the planet.
What could’ve been for Leicester.