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Bayern Munich chairman Herbert Hainer has questioned Niklas Sule’s decision to leave the club at the end of his contract to join Borussia Dortmund.
Dortmund announced on Monday a pre-agreement is in place with the Germany defender, who will join the club from Bayern at the end of the season.
The 26-year-old has agreed to a four-year deal at Signal Iduna Park, having decided against extending his Bayern contract, which expires at the end of 2021-22.
However, Hainer has questioned Sule’s decision to choose Bundesliga rivals rather than potentially more lucrative offers from the Premier League and LaLiga.
“He was already being discussed at Dortmund and there was speculation – in addition to Real Madrid, Manchester City and a few others – but I hadn’t thought that it would be his first choice,” Hainer told Bild.
“It will be exciting to see him on the other side. But it’s not new to us either. We also gave Mats Hummels to Dortmund.
“I don’t know what salary Niklas Sule gets at Borussia Dortmund. But I don’t think it’s a sporting climb.
“Niklas is a very good player who has become a regular in the national team in the last five years. I’m assuming that he’ll really give it his all over the next three months so that he can still clinch the titles that we have ahead of us.”
Sule joined Bayern from Hoffenheim in 2017 and has made 159 appearances for the club, winning four Bundesliga titles and two DFB-Pokal crowns, as well as the 2019-20 Champions League.
However, when it emerged he would not be signing a new contract, former Bayern star and chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge claimed the centre-back “never really asserted himself in his position” while at the club.
Sule’s agent, Volker Struth, recently said his client “didn’t feel fully valued” by the German champions.
“I can only speak of myself and the people I am with every day,” Hainer said in response to those comments.
“We all appreciated him and know what we had and still have in him. You have to ask him yourself what exactly he means by that.”
