Ousmane Dembele spent his Wednesday night watching Sunderland vs Sheffield United in the Championship

Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele has left fans completely perplexed after turning up to watch Sunderland vs Sheffield United.

The France international has been injured for around six weeks now after going off in the 1-0 win over Girona in late January.

He is set to be absent for Sunday's huge El Clasico clash with Real Madrid at the Camp Nou, where a win would see Barca take a huge stride towards reclaiming La Liga.

Instead, Dembele will likely make his return after the international break, with Barca taking on Elche in their first game back.

One might think he'd be at home recovering and yet Dembele was spending his Wednesday night up in the North East of England.

Sunderland hosted Sheff United in the Championship at the Stadium of Light, with the game shown live on Sky Sports.

And just after half-time, the Sky cameras panned to Dembele in the crowd, sat alongside two people. His name flashed up on the screen to confirm it was indeed the former Borussia Dortmund man.

What's Dembele doing at Sunderland??? 🤣 pic.twitter.com/3yfP5yN1YB

— PME 🚭🦅🗽🇺🇸 (@mariEscobarPAWG) March 15, 2023

Ousmane Dembele is at the Sunderland v Stoke game 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/FJEFjk0gx0

— 🇶🇦🔰 Nathan Bell 🔰🇶🇦 (@Deafeatist) March 15, 2023

And straight away there was universal confusion from fans, who were baffled as to why the £97 million was in attendance for the fixture.

Still, some decided that it was to get a bit of extra information for his latest Football Manager save. Dembele previously managed Non-League Winchester FC while at the 2018 World Cup for some unknown reason.

One said: "What's Dembele doing at Sunderland?"

A second joked: "Scoping out his squad for next FM save I hear him."

But another agreed: "I’m crying he’s scouting for his FM save."

A fourth declared: "Lol no way he’s joining the mighty Sheffield United."

A final user, who is a Newcastle fan, quipped: "Thoughts and prayers are with him at this awful time."

However, there is genuinely a reason why Dembele was watching Sunderland. He is friends with the club's owner, 25-year-old French businessman Kyril Louis-Dreyfus.

Louis-Dreyfus, who also has a small stake in Marseille, became the controlling Sunderland shareholder in June.

Dembele congratulated his pal when they beat Wycombe Wanderers in the League One play-off final to secure promotion to the Championship.

The hosts went 1-0 up through Edouard Michut before the Blades turned the game around with goals from Manchester City loanees James McAtee and Tommy Doyle.