Football
ESPN staff 7y

BVB chief warns Barca off Ousmane Dembele

Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has warned Barcelona off making a bid for Ousmane Dembele.

Barcelona are said to be interested in signing the 20-year-old France international as a replacement for Neymar, who completed his world-record €222 million move to Paris Saint-Germain.

Watzke, however, said that no amount of money would persuade Dortmund to do business -- not even a mooted €100m transfer.

"In every case, [the transfer fee is] not enough," Watzke told Eurosport during its coverage of the German Super Cup.

The Dortmund boss went on to give the example of Wolfsburg selling then-Bundesliga Player of the Year Kevin De Bruyne in 2015. The midfielder moved to Manchester City for £54.5m, and Die Wolfe are yet to bounce back from losing their prized asset.

"I remember Kevin de Bruyne, he was the Bundesliga's record transfer," Watzke said.

"When you see the years after, it was not the best transfer though as the team lost lots of quality."

Meanwhile, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has said he asked to leave Borussia Dortmund this summer but is now happy to remain at the club after a suitable offer for him to move failed to materialise.

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