BORUSSIA DORTMUND FANS booed and whistled Mats Hummels after the defender allegedly revealed his wish to join Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich.
In the build up to Dortmund’s clash with Wolfsburg on Saturday, Hummels’ name was met with jeers from the crowd, while the negative reaction continued each time he touched the ball during the game.
The Sudtribune section of the crowd at Signal Iduna Park also displayed banners with which read: “The captain is abandoning the ship – the sooner the better!”.
Dortmund director Hanz-Joachim Watzke had asked the fans to treat Hummels with respect as the club endeavour to register their highest-ever points tally in a season, though the BVB faithful have clearly not taken the news well.
On the subject of the transfer, Watzke remains adamant that Hummels will not be allowed to leave unless Bayern – or any other club – meet Dortmund’s valuation of the player.
“He has only told us his wish, nothing else,” the director told Sky. “We still have to see whether it will materialise. We have to accept the fact that Munich is his home.
“Nevertheless, we would still love it if he continued here – and the chance of him staying is not as small as people think, though it is not gigantic.
We will have talks with Bayern, I have pretty clear ideas. Either these ideas materialise 100% or there will be no transfer. We are in contact with Bayern, I can say that. I expect a solution pretty quicky. Mats is our player and everyone should respect that.”
Meanwhile, Hummels has denied approaching Bayern Munich over a summer move after asking to leave Borussia Dortmund.
The centre-back ended long-standing speculation over his future earlier in the week as BVB issued an official statement confirming Hummels’ desire to join their fierce rivals.
The club insisted at the time that no official approach had been made though former Bayern president Uli Hoeness claimed on Friday that the player had already set a move in motion.
He said: “When somebody comes knocking on your door, Bayern would be ill advised to not open that door.”
But Hummels has now vehemently denied the comments.
I have not offered myself anywhere,” he told reporters. “That is the greatest piece of nonsense I’ve ever heard.”
Bayern chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge moved to clarify Hoeness’s comments following Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Borussia Monchengladbach.
“Maybe Uli has not understood it correctly,” he said. “We were knocking on his door, not Hummels knocking on our door.
“Mats has not moved offensively towards us but we asked him whether he could imagine himself moving to Bayern.”
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