Mats Hummels on how Hans Joachim Watzke convinced him to return to Borussia Dortmund

Mats Hummels made his return to Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2019, leaving Bayern Munich for his former team still looking to challenge for titles.

Mats Hummels is another Dortmund player who made the controversial move to Bayern Munich from Borussia Dortmund, the third after both Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski did the same before him. Hummels’ departure was a bit tougher to swallow as he left Dortmund at their worst and as the captain at the time. It was not the best way to leave a club you spent nearly your entire professional career with to that point.

However, that didn’t stop Hans-Joachim Watzke and Michael Zorc from bringing him back when they had the chance in 2019. Hummels became Borussia Dortmund’s most expensive player ever after his move from Bayern Munich.

Sport1 covered an interview from Dortmund’s club magazine in which Hummels spoke on how Watzke convinced him to make the return to Dortmund. The biggest reason being the opportunity to be a true leader within the squad again, and to feel like an important player again.

"“He asked me if I wanted to be really important again, a real leader. That’s when I realized how much I wanted that. How extremely appealing that is to me. We have titles in us, I know that."

Hummels didn’t just come back to Dortmund for a bigger role, he absolutely still dreams of titles with Dortmund.

After a year and a half back in black and yellow, Hummels had no problem re-integrating himself into the Dortmund team and culture. On top of that he is their rock on the back end and one of their best players in nearly every game, it’s hard to imagine where Dortmund would be without him anchoring their back line.