Who wants some public beef as we enter the final weekend of play before the second international break? Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and the leadership of his former employer, Borussia Dortmund, are in the midst of a hostile, public back-and-forth.
Arsenal signed the Gabon international from Dortmund for a then club record fee (it has since been broken twice) of £56 million in January 2018. According to Spotrac, he signed a 4-year £32,760,000 contract with the Arsenal, including an annual average salary of £8,190,000.
In 2019, Aubameyang will reportedly earn a base salary of £10,400,000, with a weekly wage of £200,000.
BVB CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke accused Aubameyang of selling out, pointing to the fact that he has to play in the lesser tournament of Europa League with his current team, not the more prestigious Champions League competition, where his former club are competing and thriving.
Watze told Suddeutsche Zeitung: “Aubameyang, who plays great at Arsenal, will probably be warm-hearted when he looks at his bank account, but on Wednesdays will be saddened when he has to watch the Champions League on television.”
Wow. Savage.
Aubameyang his back yesterday by calling out Watzke for selling Ousmane Dembele to Barcelona in 2017 for an extremely high transfer fee.
“Better for you I never talk about why I really left Dortmund Mr Watzke you such a clown,” Auba tweeted.
“I remember that time you said we never gonna sell Ousmane then you saw more than 100M you were the first to take that money don’t talk about money please!!! Leave me alone pls”
The Bundesliga powerhouse initially rejected a bid from Barcelona in the region of €100 million for Dembele, but later accepted an initial transfer fee worth €105 million. This deal, likewise for Auba, Christian Pulisic (that’s not working out at all for the buyer right now), and Jadon Sancho likely next) is an example of Dortmund’s recent practices of developing top tier young talent, and then cashing in.
Better for you I never talk about why I really left Dortmund Mr Watzke you such a clown ? I remember that time you said we never gonna sell Ousmane then you saw more than 100M you were the first to take that money ????don’t talk about money please!!! Leave me alone pls ??
— AUBA?? (@Auba) October 3, 2019
The incendiary tweet of Aubameyang was of course met with a response, and that came from Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc.
“Auba shouldn’t have taken that tone and not used those words. Watzke did not say anything bad, he did not mean mischief,” Zorc said at a news conference this morning.
“We always supported Auba throughout the four-and-a-half years he was here. Also in difficult situations. That’s why I can’t comprehend it.”
“Especially since I know every background, every detail, I don’t really know what he meant. Auba is no longer a Dortmund player and that’s why I want to end all discussions here.”
This Aubameyang vs. his former club feud probably isn’t over; expect more strong opinions to come.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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