Dortmund boss suggests only Man City and PSG could afford Haaland and Sancho

Stefan Bienkowski

• Updated: 23 May 2023 08:42 CDT
• 3 min read

Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has suggested that the only clubs that could afford Erling Haaland and Jadon Sancho this summer are state-funded giants like Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain. 

Speculation has surrounded the Dortmund attacking duo for much of the season due to their tremendous performances for the Bundesliga club. 

Between them, Haaland and Sancho have scored a remarkable 39 goals and picked up a further 24 assists in all competitions for Dortmund this season. 

As such, the pair have been linked with just about every major club in European football for the last six months. 

If reports in England and Spain are to be believed, Manchester United remain keen on both players, while Chelsea, Real Madrid and even Barcelona are desperately trying to sign Haaland in the summer.

Borussia Dortmund’s top goalscorers this season in all competitions

Watzke downplays Haaland and Sancho sales in the summer

However, Watzke and Dortmund will have a price tag attached to both players and will demand the very highest fee if a club came calling for either of them this summer. 

With no minimum fee release clause apparently in play, both players would cost at least £100 million each. 

And considering the huge financial impact the pandemic has had on European football, Watzke doesn’t believe any of Europe’s top clubs will be able to afford either player unless they’re funded by alternative means. 

“On the whole, I don’t think that completely crazy things will happen,” the Dortmund boss told Sky Germany.

“I know the situation in the European leagues very well, and there the clouds are getting darker instead of lighter.”

“Of course, there are always two or three clubs with entire countries behind them that find ways and means to pump money into them. But on the whole, I don’t think that crazy things will happen.”

In this instance the Dortmund boss is clearly talking about Man City and PSG, who are both owned by groups in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar respectively.