Dortmund CEO Watzke declares €100 million not enough for Dembele

The talented 20-year-old may be on Barcelona’s radar, but the Bundesliga outfit is not interested in a deal

A bid of €100 million would not be enough to secure the services of Ousmane Dembele according to CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke.

The 20-year-old midfielder, who is entering his second season with the side, is considered one of the top young talents in the game.

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That has seen him linked to a move away from Dortmund in the past, with speculation growing in recent days as looks for a replacement for Neymar following the Brazilian’s exit to PSG for a world-record fee of €222 million.

Dembele did little to quell those rumours when he said he welcomed interest from the Catalan side.

However, despite talk the giants can float an offer upwards of €100 million for Dembele, Watzke is not interested in allowing the international to go.

When specifically asked about a fee, Watzke declared: "In every case not enough."

The CEO cited the example of Kevin de Bruyne, who moved from to for roughly €74 million in the 2014-15 season as an example of why simply receiving a large amount of money is not enough to replace the quality of a player.

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"I remember Kevin de Bruyne," he said. "He was the Bundesliga record transfer. When you see the years after, it was not the best transfer though, as the team lost lots of quality."

Dembele and the DFB-Pokal holders Dortmund played the reigning Bundesliga champions in the German Super Cup on Saturday, losing on penalties. They open their Bundesliga campaign August 19 on the road against Wolfsburg.