Borussia Dortmund news and rumors roundup: Filipe Luis, Alexander Isak, Otto Addo, Kevin de Bruyne
By Tushar Bahl
Kevin de Bruyne could have joined Borussia Dortmund in 2013
Manchester City star Kevin de Bruyne has revealed that Jose Mourinho prevented him from joining Borussia Dortmund when the duo were at Chelsea in 2013. De Bruyne was a fringe player at Chelsea, before reviving his career after joining Wolfsburg in January 2014.
But things could have been very different for the Belgian international had he been allowed to leave the club six months earlier.
"De Bruyne told The Players’ Tribune, “I went to Werder Bremen in 2012, and that season went great. When I came back to Chelsea the next summer, a few German clubs wanted to sign me. Klopp wanted me to come to Borussia Dortmund, and they played the kind of football that I enjoy. So I thought maybe Chelsea would let me go.” But then Mourinho texted me, “You are staying. I want you to be part of this team.”"
De Bruyne ended up leaving Chelsea for Wolfsburg in January 2014, joining for 22 million euros, before returning to the Premier League with Manchester City 18 months later.
Borussia Dortmund ended up signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan from Shakhtar, and while he proved to be a good signing for the club, de Bruyne could have taken them to another level. And there is no doubt that the Black and Yellows would have earned more money from selling de Bruyne than the 42 million euros they got for Mkhitaryan’s sale in 2016.