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Borussia Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke has hit out at “arrogant idiots” in the English media, while praising Bayern Munich in their signing of Sadio Mane.
Bayern confirmed Mane’s signing from Liverpool last Wednesday, with Watzke heralding the 30-year-old’s transfer as one that improves the quality of the Bundesliga.
With Karim Adeyemi and Adam Hlozek moving to Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen respectively, and with Ryan Gravenberch also set to sign for Bayern, the Bundesliga’s top clubs have bolstered with talented youth.
Meanwhile, German World Cup winner Mario Gotze will head for Eintracht Frankfurt ahead of their debut season in the Champions League.
In an interview with Bild, the Dortmund CEO praised the Mane transfer and barked back on the competitiveness of English clubs in response to comments from Dean Saunders on Talksport, claiming Mane will waste his prime playing in “third gear” at a dominant Bayern.
“Sadio Mane is a very good transfer, on which I expressly congratulate Bayern,” Watzke said.
“There are always some arrogant idiots like in this case. As a board member of Europe’s club association ECA, I know that German football still has a good reputation.
“The English didn’t win any of the three European titles last season – even though I would have really given Jürgen Klopp a chance with Liverpool in the Champions League.”
Along with his role at BVB, Watzke is also the DFL’s supervisory board chairman, overseeing the operation of Germany’s professional domestic leagues.
While expressing Dortmund’s excitement on the return of fierce rival Schalke to the German top flight with Werder Bremen, he insisted it was important for the overall health of the Bundesliga along with high-profile transfers.
“Not only are we looking forward to the Revierderby but the whole Bundesliga, because it is the mother of all derbies,” Watzke said.
“This is important because next year a lot of conditions will already be in place for the resale of the television rights in 2025, and if the Bundesliga booms this season, that will help us a lot with marketing.
“The Bundesliga has to get stars like Mane and Gotze, but also create stars themselves again.”
