Borussia Dortmund’s 10 biggest sales of all time
Cameron Smith
- Updated: 23 Sep 2023 10:37 CDT
- 5 min read
Borussia Dortmund have become renowned as a selling club in recent years, with their top talent often poached by Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich or elite sides from across Europe.
It's meant they haven't won the German top flight since Jurgen Klopp left the club, and despite possessing some of Europe's best talent over the past few years, BVB haven't been able to translate that into silverware.
That fact has been epitomised by the sale of Erling Haaland to Manchester City.
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They are, however, a very well-run club and making the most of sales has been something they've done well in recent times.
FootballTransfers list Borussia Dortmund's 10 biggest transfer sales.
Jude Bellingham - €134m (Real Madrid, 2023)
Jude Bellingham was a wild success at Dortmund, having been picked up as a prospect from Birmingham City in 2020 for a fee that made him the most expensive 17-year-old in history. The money proved well spent by BVB as Bellingham quickly broke into the first team and subsequently became a key player, making 132 appearances for the club.
Very quickly, he was being linked with some of Europe's biggest sides. In 2022, he resisted a move but 12 months on, with Liverpool and Manchester United among those teams fighting for him, he elected to complete a move to Real Madrid.
Los Blancos paid €103m up front for Bellingham, with a possible €31m to follow in bonuses.
Ousmane Dembele - €125m (Barcelona, 2017)
After 10 goals and 21 assists in his debut year at Dortmund, Barcelona stumped up the cash to sign the Frenchman following the loss of Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain the previous summer.
Dembele only spent one season at the Westfalenstadion, but he certainly made his mark, forming a telepathic link with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as the team scored 72 Bundesliga goals.
However, since joining Barcelona, Dembele has become riddled with injury problems and hasn't quite looked like his Dortmund self.
Jadon Sancho - €85m (Man Utd, 2021)
Jadon Sancho arrived at Borussia Dortmund as a relative unknown from Manchester City's academy. He even left England U17 World Cup winning campaign early to join up with the Dortmund squad for the start of the season.
After a brief period of adaption in Germany, Sancho began to write headlines for his performances. He was the leader for young English players moving abroad and contributed over 100 goals in just 137 appearances for the club before returning to the Premier League.
Christian Pulisic - €65m (Chelsea, 2019)
Christian Pulisic was just 20 years old when Chelsea identified him as their Eden Hazard replacement. A silky dribbler, Pulisic competed with Sancho for a starting berth during their younger days at the club and the American earned himself a move to one of Europe's biggest clubs in 2019.
He left Dortmund with a goal contribution every 167 minutes. Not bad for a young winger.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - €65m (Arsenal, 2018)
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang rivalled Robert Lewandowski for the title of Germany's best striker during his time at Dortmund.
The Gabon international was ideally suited to BVB's high-paced, counter-attacking style and he thrived at the Signal Iduna Park. He won the league's Golden Boot in the 2016/17 season, scoring 31 goals in just 32 league games.
He remarkably left the club with a goal or assist every 93 minutes and three trophies.
Erling Haaland - €60m (Man City, 2022)
Erling Haaland became the fifth-biggest sale in Dortmund's history this summer with his move to Man City, who activated his €60m release clause.
The Norwegian has excelled in Germany and started his Dortmund career in perfect fashion, netting a hat-trick off the bench on his debut. In total, Haaland scored 85 goals in just 88 appearances for Dortmund since joining from RB Salzburg and contributed 23 assists. A superstar talent, he immediately showed his talent with Manchester City, setting a Premier League scoring record in his first season.
Mario Gotze - €37m (Bayern, 2013)
Mario Gotze was the first high-profile Borussia Dortmund star to leave for Bayern, and he did so on the day of the Champions League final between the two teams.
He sat that game out, but during his time on the pitch for Dortmund he was rather good. A technically gifted player, Gotze had the ability to glide past challenges with ease and it's what attracted Bayern to signing him.
Gotze even made his senior Germany debut aged 17 thanks to his time wearing yellow and black. Final third productivity was also there, with Gotze twice hitting double digits for league assists at Dortmund and was a key part of Klopp's back-to-back title-winning team.
Mats Hummels - €35m (Bayern, 2016)
Mats Hummels was Dortmund's captain when he joined rivals Bayern in 2016, and although he re-joined the club three years later it didn't go down well with the fans.
The German was a rock at the heart of their defence during the early 2010s and has won seven trophies during his two spells at Dortmund.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan - €34.3m (Man Utd, 2016)
A player at the heart of Dortmund's forward line during his three-year stint in Germany, Henrikh Mkhitaryan was one of Europe's best creative players for multiple years and that earned him a big move to Manchester United.
However, he couldn't match the same level of form at Old Trafford and has since moved to Arsenal and now Roma.
Abdou Diallo - €32m (PSG, 2019)
Viewed as the future of Dortmund's defence, the German side were left hampered by Abdou Diallo's decision to leave the club for Paris Saint-Germain.
However, they couldn't turn down the large transfer fee for a player who'd played just 38 times for the side. He struggled to enjoy the same success when he moved back to France.
