Borrusia Dortmund’s CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke yesterday dismissed rumours surrounding the future of the club’s star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, claiming the Gabon international isn’t going anywhere.
The past week has witnessed several reports emerge surrounding Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s choice to opt out of the Gabon national team squad for their friendly against Mauritania, with the country’s head-coach Jorge Costa reportedly stating that the striker wanted to “sort out a transfer”.
The news broke out courtesy of journalist Francois David, that resulted in the striker being strongly linked with a move to the likes of Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. The 26-year-old has been in scintillating form this season, scoring 39 goals in all competitions and has looked good up-front for Thomas Tuchel’s side helping Dortmund to a 2nd placed finish in the Bundesliga and a DfB Pokal final. However Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke was quick to squash any further rumours about his star-striker, stating, according to Sport Bild, “Is Aubameyang leaving the club? That is nonsense”.
Dortmund had only last summer tied down Aubameyang to a new contract that’d keep him at the Signal Iduna Park till 2020, and stated, “It’s not without reason I signed a contract till 2020.” The French born-Gabon international though has expressed his dream to play for Real Madrid in the past stating that a move to the Spanish heavyweights would be the pinnacle of achievements in his career. However, he concedes that Dortmund is the best place to be for him at this point in time.
Back then, he was quoted as saying,”I can even imagine staying here[Dortmund] for longer, even though I would like to play in Spain one day. In football, however, you never really know what will happen. Fundamentally, I feel so good here that I could not imagine a nicer place for me right now.”
Should Aubameyang continue his blistering form for Dortmund, it will only be a matter of time before the forward is enticed by a move abroad. Joachim-Watzke had already done his bit to swat aside potential suitors for the Gabon star by going on record to state in January that even a bid in excess of £70 million may not be enough for the club to sell their man. But despite those comments he concedes the club will be forced to consider should an audacious offer seeking the player’s services comes through in the future.
