Manuel Akanji: “Performance no longer mattered” for Borussia Dortmund

Former Borussia Dortmund defender Manuel Akanji has been critical of his old club since his summer move to Manchester City.

Borussia Dortmund are set for a fair few reunions with former players this coming week as they take on Manchester City in the Champions League. Erling Haaland, İlkay Gündoğan, Sergio Gómez and Manuel Akanji all ply their trade for the blue side of Manchester these days and will look to get one over their former club in Europe’s premier competition.

Manuel Akanji in particular is the most recent departure from the Dortmund camp, and the player had quite a few words to describe his last few months with BVB over the course of the summer and into the beginning of the season. Akanji was effectively frozen out of the squad once it was made aware that he would not be signing a new contract with the club.

"“It wasn’t an easy time for me. I was part of the team and had a valid contract, was focused and continued to put my foot down in training. But the performance principle didn’t count anymore, I sat in the stands no matter how well I trained.“"

Akanji also made it a point to address the rumors surrounding the contract negotiations, stating claims made about multiple contract rejections were false. The player indicated that there was never one formal offer, let alone two or three:

"“I have never talked about numbers with Dortmund. It was never about money for me. I found it crass that I was accused of that out of nowhere…because BVB knew from the start that it wasn’t a question of money, but that I wanted a change.”"

Akanji’s frustration regarding his exclusion from the squad is understandable from the perspective of any professional footballer; the player wants to play. That being said however, in stating his intention to leave, it’s hard to fault the club for planning for life after Akanji (i.e signing players to replace him in the squad and giving them minutes instead).

As has been mentioned on several occasions, separation in short order was the best possible scenario for both club and player. The only shame in this situation is that it did not come sooner (earlier in the transfer window). Akanji on his side would have been able to move on without this feeling of isolation, and Dortmund would have had a longer amount of time to decide what they want to do with the transfer fee the Swiss international moved on for.