Borussia Dortmund defender Mats Hummels has revealed he has no intention of leaving Signal Iduna Park despite ongoing speculation linking him with a move away from the club.
The Germany international, 25, has been attracting interest from the likes of Barcelona, Manchester United, and Real Madrid after helping Germany win the World Cup in Brazil in the summer.
Despite such speculation, Hummels seems perfectly happy at Dortmund, and rightly so. He has spent the last six years with the club, reaching the UEFA Champions League final in 2012/13 and winning the Bundesliga in 2010/11 and 2011/12.
“It’s nice to hear that big clubs like that are interested in you,” Hummels said.
“I take that as a compliment but it doesn’t influence me in any way, otherwise. We earn enough here in Dortmund.
“There will always be someone who can pay more than BVB but Dortmund have made a lot of progress during my time here. In any case I believe it’s enough for me.
“If one day I start thinking about playing abroad, money won’t be the reason. I don’t even think about that at the moment. We still have so much further to go here.”
Hummels added: “People often speak about the Dortmund ‘project’ in that context but I don’t really like that word.
“It’s too unemotional and sounds so technical. I’ve been here for six and a half years and it’s simply more exciting and more difficult to win trophies as an underdog.
“Everybody can win things with 25 superstars in the squad. At BVB, every single player has more responsibility but also more opportunity. It’s difficult to win trophies with Dortmund but it’s always possible. And when it happens, the feeling is simply indescribable.
“When we won the championship for a second time in 2012, each one of us could have gone wherever we wanted. But I thought: ‘No, what we have here is something truly unique.’
“I’m happy I felt this way. You don’t often find a team where people are really friends with each other. If you’ve got the chance to play at such a high level with your mates you have to hold on to that for as long as possible.”
Over the past four years, Dortmund have done very little wrong. The only massive error that comes to mind is failing to sell Robert Lewandowski and allowing him to join rivals Bayern Munich on a free transfer.
Had the club received €30 million to €40 million for Lewandowski, they could have reinvested in a top-quality front-man, e.g. Christian Benteke or Romelu Lukaku.
Dortmund are now suffering the consequences of failing to cash in on the Poland international. Jürgen Klopp’s side have lost three of their first six league fixtures, having netted just nine goals while conceding 11.
New arrivals Adrián Ramos and Ciro Immobile have combined to score three goals in 10 appearances for the club, but that is simply not good enough for perennial Champions League contender.
Now then, will the failure to sell Lewandowski come back to haunt BVB? It already has…
- Soccer News Like
- Be the first of your friends!
