Aubameyang keeps Dortmund future open
BERLIN: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang said this week’s talks with the club will decide his Borussia Dortmund future after he became the German league’s top-scorer for the first time on Saturday.
The Gabon hot-shot scored with a superb volley, then converted a second-half penalty in Dortmund’s 4-3 home win over Werder Bremen.
His double left him on 31 goals, one more than Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski, as the race to be the Bundesliga’s top scorer went to the wire.
The victory confirmed Dortmund finished third to qualify directly for the Champions League next season, but Aubameyang gave no guarantees he will be around.
He has a contract until 2020, but says his future depends on talks with the club before Saturday’s German Cup final against Eintracht Frankfurt in Berlin
“We’ll see. We have one game left. I will talk to the club next week and then decide,” he said.
After lifting the ‘Golden Cannon’ trophy as the German league’s top scorer, he said: “The team put in a lot of work, I have them all to thank for this.”
Aubameyang has been linked to big-money offers from China’s Tianjin Quanjian and Paris SaintGermain in recent weeks.
He has also repeatedly said he eventually wants to play for Real Madrid to keep a promise he made to his now deceased grandfather, just before he passed away.
Meanwhile, coach Thomas Tuchel also faces clear-the-air talks with CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke.
The pair fell out after Tuchel said he was not consulted about replaying last month’s Champions League quarter-final less than 24 hours after a bomb attack on the team bus.
Watzke has refuted the claim and Tuchel, who has a year left on his contract, admits his future is up in the air, but wants to stay.
“Of course, that’s without question,” he said having awkwardly hugged Watzke on the pitch following Dortmund’s victory.