Bira Dembélé

Stade Rennais

Born in Villepinte, Seine-Saint-Denis, France, Dembélé worked his way through the Stade Rennais youth system, having previously played for various youth teams. While progressing through the club's reserve, he paired with Prince Oniangué in central defense. Following the injuries of the club's first team players, Dembélé was promoted to the club's first team. After appearing as an unused substitute on five occasions, Dembélé finally made his Stade Rennais debut, starting the whole game, in a 1–1 draw against Metz on 26 January 2008. After appearing in a handful of first team appearances, the club was convinced with his performance, leading Dembélé to signing a three-year professional contract. For the next two seasons, he went on to make thirteen appearances in all competitions. In summer of 2009, Dembélé was loaned to Boulogne, recently promoted to Ligue 1, to gather some professional experience. He made his debut for the club on 16 August 2009, coming on as a late substitute, in a 2–1 win over Grenoble. He then scored his first professional goal on 4 October 2009, in a 3–2 loss against Lille. Since then, Dembélé became a first team regular at Boulogne throughout the 2009–10 season and making twenty-four appearances and scoring once. Following the end of the 2009–10 season, Dembélé, however, was left on the sidelines by Frédéric Antonetti and played the whole 2010/2011 season with the Reserve. At the end of the season, he was released by the…

In August 2008, he was called up France U21 and went on to play four times for the France U21 side.