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Barcelona and Real Madrid receive boosts in Aubameyang chase

By Rucker Haringey

GELSENKIRCHEN, GERMANY - APRIL 01: Pierre Emerick Aubameyang ( Borussia Dortmund ) celebrates as he scores the goal during the Bundesliga match between FC Schalke 04 and Borussia Dortmund at Veltins-Arena on April 1, 2017 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. (Photo by Stefan Matzke - sampics/Corbis via Getty Images)
GELSENKIRCHEN, GERMANY - APRIL 01: Pierre Emerick Aubameyang ( Borussia Dortmund ) celebrates as he scores the goal during the Bundesliga match between FC Schalke 04 and Borussia Dortmund at Veltins-Arena on April 1, 2017 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. (Photo by Stefan Matzke - sampics/Corbis via Getty Images) /
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Expect Barcelona and Real Madrid to battle for Aubameyang

Borussia Dortmund are adamant they won’t sell Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Bayern Munich this summer, but the club are happy to listen to offers from Real Madrid and Barcelona. Evidently the La Liga rivals are eligible to purchase the prolific striker whereas Dortmund’s chief Bundesliga rivals are not.

Dortmund general manager Hans-Joachim Watzke is determined to stop the recent trend of top-end talent traveling from his club over to Bayern. He refuses to let Aubameyang follow the lead of players like Hummels and Lewandowski before him.

For the record, Watzke also stated his belief that Aubameyang will stay put this summer. He did, however, quickly follow that up with an admission that Dortmund would absolutely listen to offers from Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Expect that news to set off alarm bells for both of Spain’s top two clubs. Neither Barcelona or Real Madrid are necessarily in need of attacking reinforcements, but that’s not really the issue. When officials at either club see an opportunity to snap up a world-class goal scorer, they do everything they can to make it happen.

Aubameyang is nothing if not a lethal goal scoring threat. He’s been one of Germany’s top goal scorers for the last several seasons. There’s no question he has the talent to do the same in Spain. Either La Liga club would be pleased to add him to their striking options moving forward.

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As always, you can expect this transfer tussle to become a matter of economics. Dortmund are in a very enviable position here. They are in good financial shape and certainly don’t need to sell Aubameyang this summer. Watzke and company hold all the cards in this transfer race.

In essence, they can name their price for the Gabon hitman and wait to see whether or not Barcelona or Real Madrid are willing to pay the freight. The Bundesliga club could easily ask for over £100 million for their most talented striker.

At that price, it’s quite possible that he’ll stay put at Dortmund for a while longer. As I mentioned before, neither Real Madrid or Barcelona really need to purchase another forward this summer. Still, if the summer transfer window drags on without either club making a big name purchase, you could see Aubameyang brought in to satisfy a rabid fan base.

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Dortmund fans can take comfort in the revelation that Aubameyang won’t be allowed to move to their arch rivals this summer. Unfortunately, a move to Barcelona or Real Madrid is still a distinct possibility.

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