Barcelona attacker Ousmane Dembele says Real Madrid will be weakened by the departure of Karim Benzema.

Benzema has left Real for Al-Ittihad this month.

Dembele said: "Real Madrid are always a very difficult rival who fight for all the titles. We wanted to win this league and we didn't want to let any points slip away that would allow them to get closer. We were determined to win it.

"Without Benzema, Real Madrid loses a lot because he is the Ballon d'Or and a great player. Real Madrid without Benzema is not the same. It will be a very important loss. And also for La Liga, because he's a player who scores a lot of goals, gives assists... and he's a phenomenal player."