Borussia Dortmund would not be open to re-signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the future, according to CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke told Kicker.
Nuri Sahin, Shinji Kagawa and Mario Gotze have returned to Dortmund in recent years, but when asked by kicker whether there would be potential for Mkhitaryan to return in the future, Watzke replied: “No.”
In the summer, Dortmund also sold Mats Hummels to Bayern Munich and Ilkay Gundogan to Manchester City.
“We need to cope with losing two world class players in Hummels and Gundogan and also Mkhitaryan,” Watzke said.
Mkhitaryan left Dortmund for Manchester United this summer following a season in which he scored 23 goals in all competitions and set up a further 32, but his departure caught the club by surprise, with a contract renewal expected to be agreed.
During the months leading up to his transfer, parts of the media claimed that Mino Raiola, his agent, persuaded the 27-year-old to leave Dortmund, but Watzke defended the agent.
He said: “In Mkhitaryan’s case it was the player’s decision. Raiola is intelligent, and he’s a brute. He has a certain business model, but we knew that already when we sat down because of Mkhitaryan. You know what you have with him. Raiola acted correctly.”
