They are the words Borussia Dortmund fans hate to hear... Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has once again admitted he may need to leave the German club to further his career.

The free-scoring Gabonese striker has become one of the most coveted assets in European football thanks to a remarkable run of prolific seasons but, until now, Dortmund have been able to hold onto their MVP.

They look as though they have successfully negotiated another transfer window without losing Aubameyang but - on deadline day - the forward has hinted that he's almost ready to depart.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has once against hinted at a departure from Borussia Dortmund

In an interview with French radio station RMC, the hitman accepted that moving to an elite club might be necessarily.

He said: 'If I want to go to the next level, I need to leave in summer.

'Real Madrid is still a dream, but there has been too much noise.'

Aubameyang is taking the brutally honest approach to talking about his future, with the striker last week telling Fussball Bild: 'I love it at Dortmund, but I can't say that I'll stay for two more years, or five or 10.

'It's possible that a club could reach an agreement with Dortmund in June and I'll go.

'When you are ambitious and also want to see something else... it's difficult to talk about. Some players have ambitions, and therefore they leave and want to experience something new, you know.'