Haaland, Sancho, Dembele: Borussia Dortmund’s sold players XI

In life, there are three constants: death, taxes, and Borussia Dortmund being raided for their top stars.

While Dortmund have seen plenty of success and been able to watch a number of star players pull on their famous yellow jersey, they have always succumbed to the inevitability of even bigger sides swooping in and looting their squad.

Der BVB have, for the most part, done a solid job of holding their own when it comes to this, though. Aware of the prized assets they recruit and help to create, Dortmund often concede to the inevitable sales on the condition that they get as much money as possible, which they reinvest in more young stars for the cycle to continue.

It’s all well and good, ensuring the club runs efficiently. But for fans, it’s agonising. Glimmers of hope and the thought of perhaps just once building a mega squad that could go on a pursuit of silverware is always nipped in the bud by Bayern Munich, or someone else within Europe with lots of money to offer up.

Unfortunately, that pattern doesn’t look like ending anytime soon, with Die Borussen agreeing to another major sale.

Erling Haaland will leave Dortmund to join Manchester City at the end of the season, after agreeing to activate his £51.2 million release clause.

The Norwegian showed signs of becoming one of the world’s best from a young age. And after being snapped up by Red Bull Salzburg in 2018, he was on the move again in 2020, when Dortmund pipped interest from the likes of Manchester United and Juventus to bring him to Signal Iduna Park.

Since scoring a hat-trick on his debut in Germany, Haaland has developed into one of the world’s most prolific forwards, resigning Dortmund to their fate after just two years of owning him.

He’s not the first,