Top 5 players sold by Borussia Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund are one of the top teams playing in Germany and Europe. The early 2010's era was a time when they underwent a renaissance with current Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp as their manager.

They won two Bundesliga titles in 2011 and 2012 and the DFB Pokal in 2012. It is not a matter of coincidence that they just won two successive Bundesliga titles. Jurgen Klopp's tactics and some world class players helped them achieve that at Bayern Munich's expense.

Though the Ruhr based outfit have lost a number of key players, they have done well enough to maintain their status as one of the most elite clubs in Europe. They use the policy of buying young players, giving them a run in the first team so that they can develop into world-class players.

The Signal Iduna Park has been home to many world-class players in recent seasons. There is no doubt that if they had kept their best players they would have been a force to reckon with not only in Germany but in Europe as well. But unfortunately, that is not the case.

Here we look at top 6 players sold by Borussia Dortmund...

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#5 Ousmane Dembele

Dembele helped Dortmund end their trophy drought last season with a DFL Pokal Cup

Dembele joined Borussia Dortmund from Rennes for a fee of £13.50 million, scoring 10 goals and providing 21 assists in his first and only season with the club.

In the summer of 2017, he moved to FC Barcelona for a fee of £94.50 million. Though his initial days were marred by injuries, he has picked up his form after staying injury free in the last few weeks.

He helped Dortmund end their trophy drought last season when he scored the crucial winner against Bayern Munich in the semi-final as they went on to win the DFL Pokal Cup in 2017.

Capable of using both his feet, Dembele is known for his dribbling has a knack for scoring crucial goals. He would have been higher on the list had he spent more years with BVB as he is a player capable of influencing big games by himself.

#4 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Aubameyang had disciplinary problems at Dortmund

The Gabon international was one of the most lethal strikers in the world during his time in Germany with Borrusia Dortmund.

In 144 appearances for the BVB, he scored a stunning 98 goals. Last season, he was the top scorer in the Bundesliga with 31 goals as Dortmund finished 3rd in the league to qualify for the Champions Leauge.

Though he led the Dortmund line very successfully, he had disciplinary issues and finds himself 5th on the list, as Dortmund were very keen to sell him.

In January 2018, he signed for Arsenal for a record fee of £56 million and has had a mixed start with the Gunners.

#3 Henrikh Mkhitaryan

Mkhitaryan left Dortmund for a new challenge

The Armenian joined Dortmund from Shakhtar as a replacement for Mario Gotze. He was impressive during his time at the Signal Iduna Park scoring 41 goals and further providing 49 assists during his three-year stay in Germany.

In the 2015/16 season, he was on top of the assists charts for Dortmund and was voted Kicker Bundesliga's Players' Player of the Season. He also won two German Super Cups with the BVB.

He revealed that he left Dortmund as he wanted a new challenge and even went on to say that that signing for Manchester United was a big deal, "Manchester United are a bigger club than Borussia Dortmund, everyone knows that and we should just accept that".

He joined Manchester United in the summer of 2017 and won the Europa League and the League Cup with them. But he could never cement his place in United's starting line up and was part of a swap deal that saw him leave for the Emirates and Alexis Sanchez moving to United.

#2 Mats Hummels

Hummels moved to Bayern a few years ago

Mats Hummels came to Signal Iduna Park as a youngster who failed to break into the Bayern Munich team in 2008. He initially came on loan in 2008 and a year later he was signed permanently for £4 million.

The German international become a regular for Dortmund and helped them win two Bundesliga titles, a DFL Pokal Cup and a German Super Cup.

Since his departure, Dortmund have missed an imposing figure at the back. He displays great quality on the ball with his distribution and reads the game well.

In 2016 he re-joined Bayern Munich for a fee of £31.50 million.

#1 Mario Gotze

Can Goetze reach the same heights he hit in 2014?

If you're wondering why Robert Lewandowski isn't on the list, it's because Dortmund didn't sell him. He left for free.

When Jurgen Klopp created his all-conquering Dortmund team, Goetze was at the heart of it. The young German was so impressive that many compared him to Lionel Messi

But in the summer of 2013, he broke the hearts of Dortmund fans by moving to their arch-rivals Bayern Munich for a then German record fee of €37 million. Things did not go well for the World Cup winner as he struggled with injuries at the Allianz Arena.

It was his move that crumbled Dortmund, as they never really managed to replace him or find a way to play their high pressing football without him.

Though he is now back from where he started, but he is a shadow of the player he once used to be.