Borussia Dortmund chiefs have hit back at claims from former Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness that their transfer policy is centred around selling their star players.
Hoeness caused a storm at the Westfalenstadion after suggesting Dortmund's transfer model was 'not clever'.
He said: 'When Dortmund buys a highly talented player and he plays well, a few months later you hear either from the club itself or from the outside, that he will be presented as put up for sale at some point. How is a player supposed to absorb the DNA of a club one hundred percent, when he has the feeling that he's up for sale?'
The claims come with Dortmund set to lose Jadon Sancho to Manchester United in a deal worth around £100million, three years after plucking him from relative obscurity of the Manchester City academy.
Dortmund's sporting director Michael Zorc was among those who hit back at the claims, blasting Hoeness as 'arrogant' given Bayern's superior financial resources.
'I find the comments quite arrogant. If you have €250 million (£225m) more in your pocket every year, it's easy to throw money around. Some of it is also de facto incorrect.'
Former Dortmund keeper, and now the club's international ambassador, Roman Weidenfeller, hinted that the comments from Hoeness come from a place of jealousy following Jude Bellingham's decision to turn down the German champions to join Dortmund from Birmingham City at the end of July.
'It again seems to be a case of deep-set frustration over the fact that Jude Bellingham decided against Bayern and for BVB,' Weidenfeller said.
With Bayern set to return to action in the Champions League on Saturday, Dortmund president Reinhard Raubell found the timing of Hoeness's comments confusing.
'It would have been better if Uli Hoeness had kept his statements to himself. The timing is also very strange; Bayern has the Champions League next week after all and actually better things to do.'
Meanwhile, Dortmund chairman Hans-Joachim Watzke claimed the statements are damaging to the relations between the clubs.
He claimed that his otherwise close relationship with Bayern chief Karl-Heinz Rummenigge that helps bridge the clubs is too often damaged by snide remarks.
'Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and I have worked for years so that the two biggest German clubs have a respectful relationship with one another. I think it's very much a shame that an attempt is made to undermine that at regular intervals', he said
After winning the Bundesliga in June, Bayern take on Chelsea on Saturday in the Champions League as they look to protect a 3-0 lead at the Allianz Arena following their first leg triumph pre-lockdown at Stamford Bridge.
