Lionel Messi has warned his fellow Barcelona teammate Ousmane Dembele to step up and show more professional attitude towards the team.

Dembele has not shown disciple in his time-keeping and he has failed to leave up to the Billings since his arrival from Borrusia Dortmund.Barca captain Messi has made it clear more is expected of Dembele this term, although the 22-year-old scored eight LaLiga goals in 2018-19 when only starting 20 games.“I believe he’s an impressive talent who can do whatever he wants,” Messi said in an interview with SPORT. “He is very young and I think this year will be very important for him to make the step up that the whole of the Barcelona fanbase wants to see. He needs to make that change to be more professional, to put that idea into his head, so he can be a success at Barcelona like he wants to be.“I hope he doesn’t have the bad luck he’s had with injuries.

“Last year, when we needed him the most, he was injured. Hopefully, that doesn’t happen this year and he’s able to show everything he has, which is a lot. As a player, he’s very impressive.”Messi, though, accepts it is not easy to thrive at Barca, with players such as Philippe Coutinho having failed to make their mark.“It’s very difficult to play for Barcelona,” he said. “It’s the biggest club in the world and everything that comes with it is tough.“The supporters, the groups, the media coverage… It isn’t easy to come in and step out onto the Camp Nou pitch. It doesn’t matter for some and others feel it immediately.When someone has a strong mentality and is confident, everything works out. But not everyone is the same. Some people aren’t able to adapt to these things in the same way.“It isn’t easy to play for Barcelona.”Dembele was one of the players reportedly being offered to Paris Saint-Germain as a makeweight in the proposed deal to sign Neymar.