Dortmund's incredible 'REAL' transfer fees revealed after cashing in on 3 stars

Borussia Dortmund have raked in a mammoth total of £876million in player sales since 2015, according to reports.

The German giants are well-known for their ability to accrue huge sums of money for talented players they acquired for very little, or even develop themselves.

To ensure they challenge at the top level of both German and European football, Dortmund have always allowed their biggest stars to depart for big money, which they then use to re-build a squad.

Prior to this summer, they had made €994m (£839m) from selling players, in just nine years. They soon broke the one billion euro barrier in the transfer window after allowing Niclas Füllkrug to leave for West Ham £22.8m.

It means that thanks to selling superstars such as Jude Bellingham, Erling Haaland, and even Ousmane Dembele, Dortmund have become Germany's best-selling club in the last nine years, according to BILD.

Perhaps the most incredible sale of the many Dortmund have sanctioned, is that of Dembele who left for Barcelona in 2017.

The French forward signed for BVB only a year prior as one of the hottest prospects in Europe at just 18 years old.

His 10 goals and 20 assists in 49 matches in Germany enticed the Spanish giants into slapping a monster £96m on the table to secure his signature.

Or so we thought. BILD are now suggesting the final fee for Dembele's transfer was £124.9m, making the winger the third most expensive signing in history behind Neymar Jr and Kylian Mbappe, who both moved to Paris Saint-Germain in 2018.

It is believed that all bonus payments have now been completed from Barcelona to Dortmund. £16.9m of the total price came from the Catalan giants making the Champions League on two occasions while Dembele played for them.

Another infamous sale in the recent history of the Bundesliga side was that of Bellingham, who made the switch to Real Madrid last summer.

Bellingham arrived at Signal Iduna Park as a fresh-faced 17-year-old from his boyhood club Birmingham City for little over £25m, including bonuses.

Year by year, The midfielder's value skyrocketed up before Los Blancos came calling three years into his successful spell in the Bundesliga.

England's golden boy could not turn down a move to arguably the world's biggest club and Dortmund initially drew in £88m from his sale.

However, Mail Sport reported at the time that the eventual fee would rise to £113m due £25m worth of performance-related add-ons, and it is believed that a number of those bonuses have been achieved.

Dortmund have Bellingham to thank for the large amount of money they have brought in as it has been suggested that he told his current side that he would only sign if they met the German club's demands.

While the sales of Dembele and Bellingham proved fruitful for Dortmund, not all of their top talents have left for the price they would have wanted.

When Erling Haaland left the club in 2022 to sign for Premier League champions Manchester City, he was regarded as one of, if not the, best strikers in the world.

However, Dortmund only brought in slightly over £50m for the goal machine. A small figure for someone who had scored 86 goals in just 89 matches for them.

The reason for the low fee has now been revealed. Haaland and his team requested an exit clause to be included in his contract in the summer of 2021, just 18 months after arriving in Germany, reports BILD.

But the German side were not initially comfortable with the request, given they hadn't included such a clause since 2013. Just a year later, though, Haaland's wishes were granted and he made the move to his country of birth.

There is no doubt that Dortmund's sale strategy has been sensational, due to the figures displayed in this article.

Nevertheless, not all of their money has bred success. During the same period, the club have spent nearly £800m on incomings - less than £100m shy of what they have brought in.

In that time, Dortmund have won just three domestic trophies and been the bridesmaid five occasions in the Bundesliga, while failing to win it.