In the summer of 2012, Dimitar Berbatov was waiting to board a flight to Florence when his phone rang. On the line was Martin Jol, his old Tottenham Hotspur manager, then in charge of Fulham. Berbatov was leaving Manchester United, and Jol was desperate to lure him back to London.
Jol remembers: "He was ready to go to Fiorentina, and I had to talk him out of it."
Berbatov had one simple question: was Mousa Dembele staying? "Of course Dembele is staying," Jol replied.
It did not quite work out like that, and Dembele soon signed for Spurs. A few days after Berbatov had committed to joining Fulham, Jol joked that they were lucky the Bulgarian had not stormed out once he had learned of Dembele's departure.
Berbatov's appreciation of Dembele's class is indicative of how highly the midfielder is regarded within the game, even if it has taken starring roles in recent performances against Arsenal and Juventus for wider recognition to finally come his way.
Dele Alli, Eric Dier, Victor Wanyama, Danny Rose and Harry Winks, teammates at Spurs, have all said that the Belgian, rather than Harry Kane or Christian Eriksen, is the team's best player. Jan Vertonghen, who plays with Dembele at club and international level, added last year: "I don't think people know how good Mousa is."
Appreciation from opponents
The appreciation extends to the opposition. Ross Barkley has said that Dembele is the most difficult opponent he has faced, while Crystal Palace's James McArthur was saying three years ago that Dembele was the best player he had played against.
A quiet, religious man who takes both football and life seriously, it was not until Dembele's second season at Fulham that he truly thrived.
Tim Sherwood, who managed Dembele at Spurs, says the Belgian's teammates would fall about laughing in training because they could not take the ball away from him. "When I was his manager, I felt secure every time the ball was passed to him," Sherwood says. "Some of them get it in their own half and you hold your breath."
The move to Spurs for £15-million came, said Sherwood, the club's technical director when Dembele arrived, because "the club wanted a player who could get the ball from the defence and take it forward".
Dembele sets the tempo and controls the game. His domineering performances have been key to the development of Mauricio Pochettino's side into one of Europe's most feared teams. "Without Dembele," Pochettino once said, "we do not exist."
It has taken long for a player who commands such respect among his colleagues to be lauded by the wider footballing world. It could be his disappointing scoring return of seven league goals for Spurs.
Another factor is his injury record. Dembele has suffered more than 40 injuries since joining Spurs in 2012.
Pochettino refers to the 30-year-old as his "genius". His peers will no doubt view the praise coming his way to be as belated as it is deserved...