Kylian Mbappe has revealed he encouraged Ousmane Dembele to join Barcelona, and told footmercato.net his friend can "become a great player alongside [Lionel] Messi and [Luis] Suarez."

Dembele forced through a move from Borussia Dortmund to Barca in the summer, having refused to train with the German side, with the deal potentially costing the Spanish club nearly €150 million.

The France international will have to fill the void left at the Camp Nou by Neymar's €222m world-record switch to Paris Saint-Germain, but Mbappe believes Dembele has all the attributes to take on that challenge.

"We talked about it and he asked me what I thought. I told him to go there because it was a great opportunity for him," Mbappe said. "He can really become a great player alongside Messi and Suarez in attack. He's really going to improve. He already has incredible talent, but he can make another step up."

While Barca could pay nearly €150m for Dembele in total, that fee is set to be eclipsed by the €180m PSG are set to pay Monaco for Mbappe next summer.

Though Mbappe has only joined PSG from Monaco on loan for the season, the deal contains an automatic purchase option that will be activated at the end of the 2017-18 campaign.

"[Dembele and I] have a passion for football. All that about 'prices' or whatever doesn't worry us. All we care about is the pitch," said Mbappe, who could make his PSG debut in Friday's Ligue 1 game at Metz.

Ousmane Dembele moved from Borussia Dortmund to Barcelona this summer. Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty Images

"We want to play as we have always played since we started football, each of us in our home towns. It's not a question of value or principle, it's just a question of passion, feeling, of that love of the game."

Meanwhile, speaking with Le Parisien, Mbappe has said that he is not targeting the Ballon d'Or for himself after his move to PSG, but that he is hoping to aid Neymar in his quest for individual recognition.

"No. I already have a teammate who can win it," Mbappe responded when asked about attempting to win the Ballon d'Or. "Therefore, individually at least, my goal is to score many goals and help Neymar.

"Neymar can help us to win a lot of trophies, so we must look after him. I will do everything I can to help him to win this Ballon d'Or. It would give me great pleasure, I will be able to touch it like this."

Mbappe, who hails from Paris, was raised as a PSG supporter and the player has made no secret of that fact.

The Ligue 1 giants also emphasised his long-standing affection for his childhood club during his unveiling at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday.

Growing up as a PSG fan, Mbappe said that "when I was younger, Ronaldinho was my idol."

Ronaldinho only won the 2001 UEFA Intertoto Cup with PSG and failed to land a major domestic honour during his time at the club before leaving for Barcelona in 2003.

ESPN FC's Paris Saint-Germain correspondent Jonathan Johnson contributed to this report.