Ranking BVB's biggest spending campaigns after €108.5 million outlay this summer
Borussia Dortmund have never been known to spend big in the transfer market like their mightier rivals around Europe. In fact, the club has traditionally been a 'feeder' club, selling off their most talented young players for a hefty price to the richer and more glamorous sides.
Yet this summer, the BVB made an unusually high outlay of €108.5 million for seven players in the transfer window as Niko Kovac's side underwent a period of squad rebuilding following the disappointment of another trophyless campaign last term.
Here's where it ranks in Dortmund's biggest spending campaigns in history:
5) 2026-27 season: €108.5 million
Niko Kovac's first full season in-charge promised so much, but ended in a damp squib. No trophy, and finishing behind champions Bayern Munich in Bundesliga once again. Determined to rise from the ashes, the club has sought to rebuild itself with some fresh legs, costing them a total of €108.5 million, which includes a hefty €30 million for Konstantinos Karetsas, now Dortmund's second-most expensive signing in history.
4) 2022-23 season: €109.1 million
Dortmund spent slightly more in 2022-23 summer transfer window, and that was also prompted by disappointing returns from the previous season. Their investment very nearly paid off here too, as the BVB came agonizingly close to clinching their first Bundesliga title since 2012, but a draw on the final day allowed Bayern to race ahead on goal-difference and sneak it right under their noses.
3) 2017-18 season: €122.59 million
Ousmane Dembele's €105 million transfer to FC Barcelona in the sumemr of 2017 had filled up Dortmund's coffers and the side reinvested all of that back in rebuilding their squad, with Andriy Yarmolenko being the most expensive of them all at €30 million followed by Manuel Akanji's move from FC Basel for €21.5 million and another €20 million for Maximilian Philipp among others. But despite such a massive outlay, the BVB finished without a trophy.
2) 2016-17 season: €141.10 million
The previous year, Dortmund had spent even more, including €26 million to bring back Mario Gotze from Bayern Munich, just three years after losing him for free. Andre Schurrle madeup another hefty €30 million as the club roped in nine players. While this transfer window was another mixed bag, they at least lifted the DFB-Pokal at the end of it with Ousmane Dembele, bought in for just €8 million, scoring in the finals.
1) 2019-20 season: €148.5 million
This remains the only transfer window wherein Dortmund spent upwards of €25 million on four different players as Julian Brandt, Thorgan Hazard, Nico Schulz and Mats Hummels all came in for hefty prices. At €148.5 million, the 2019-20 season also remains the most expensive transfer campaign in the club's history.
