Dortmund rule out Gotze sale

Dortmund rule out Gotze sale

Published Apr. 5, 2011 4:42 p.m. ET

Borussia Dortmund chairman Hans-Joachim Watzke has ruled out selling Mario Gotze and claims clubs chasing the starlet are "wasting their time".

Gotze, 18, has been a regular in the Dortmund side which has run away with the Bundesliga this season - Jurgen Klopp's men are seven points clear with six games remaining - and also made his Germany debut in November.

Speculation has suggested Europe's leading clubs have him in their sights but Watzke is adamant the midfielder is going nowhere.

"I can say he is not for sale," he told Bild, before insisting the club would reject a 25 million euro offer for a player who came through their system.

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"Definitely. Mario has a contract with us until 2014 and he will remain in Dortmund for at least that period of time.

"Other clubs can forget making an offer for Mario, they would be wasting their time."

The 4-1 weekend win over Hannover has left Dortmund 14 points clear of third-placed Bayern Munich with the top two qualifying automatically for next season's Champions League.

And while Watzke is confident his club will be competing among Europe's best in 2011/12, he was more cautious when it came to discussing the title.

He added: "We can assume that the points we took against Hannover mean we will qualify for the Champions League but the title...we have six tough games left."

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