Five who played for both Borussia Dortmund and PSG | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain meet in the Champions League semi-finals this evening, with both teams just one step away from club football’s biggest game.

There will be some familiar faces in the PSG lineup for Dortmund, including two stars who famously once wore the yellow colours of the German side.

Ahead of their clash at the Westfalenstadion, we’ve remembered five players who played for both Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain.

Christian Wörns

One of the best German defenders of his generation, Christian Wörns was named in the Bundesliga Team of the Season on four occasions, including three successive seasons between 1996 and 1998, during long spells at Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund.

After seven impressive seasons in Leverkusen, Wörn decided on a new challenge when he signed for Paris Saint-Germain ahead of the 1998/99 season, having impressed for Germany at that summer’s World Cup held in France.

However, he struggled to settle in Ligue 1 and returned to the Bundesliga after just 29 appearances, signing for Dortmund.

The defender spent nine seasons at the Westfalenstadion and formed part of the team that won the Bundesliga title and reached the UEFA Cup final, under former Germany teammate Matthias Sammer, in 2001/02. He won 66 caps for Germany but saw his international career curtailed after a controversial interview criticising head coach Jurgen Klinsmann in 2005.

Thomas Meunier

A reliable right-back who spent four seasons at each club. Meunier signed for PSG from Club Brugge for a bargain fee of €7m and proved to be a valuable member of the French side’s squad, winning three consecutive Ligue 1 titles between 2018 and 2020, and reaching the Champions League final in his final campaign with the club.

The Belgium international departed to sign for Borussia Dortmund on a free transfer in search of a more regular role but struggled to establish himself in Germany. He won the DFB-Pokal in 2020/21 but failed to make more than 20 league starts in any of his four seasons. Meunier signed for Trabzonspor in February 2024.

Ousmane Dembele

Have Dortmund done much better business than this?

The German side spotted the talent of Ousmane Dembele at Rennes and the winger proved to be an instant hit at the Westfalenstadion. He scored 10 goals in all competitions and ranked third in the Bundesliga for assists (11), earning a place in the Bundesliga Team of the Season and the division’s Rookie of the Season award.

Barcelona, fresh from receiving a record-breaking transfer fee for Neymar, broke their transfer record to sign Dembele, agreeing a €105m deal to sign the Frenchman. Dortmund recouped an astonishing profit on the player after just one season, though Dembele’s time in Spain proved frustrating as he struggled with persistent fitness issues.

He won three La Liga titles and led the league for assists in 2021/22, but started just 85 league games in six seasons.

Dembele signed for PSG in a €50m deal in 2023 and has impressed in his debut campaign. The 26-year-old has five goals and 14 assists in all competitions this season.

Abdou Diallo

Abdou Diallo signed for Borussia Dortmund from Bundesliga rivals Mainz for a fee of €28m, after an impressive first season in Germany’s top tier. He made 38 appearances in all competitions during his first season in Dortmund before PSG offered an instant profit on the promising defender.

Diallo moved to PSG for €32m but struggled to cement an automatic role in the club’s plans and was limited to a bit-part role at the Parc des Princes. After a loan move to RB Leipzig, he joined Qatar Stars League side Al-Arabi in August 2023.

Achraf Hakimi

Achraf Hakimi’s ascent to the upper echelons of world football was kickstarted by a two-season spell at Borussia Dortmund. Unable to break in at Real Madrid, he signed for Dortmund on loan and starred, earning inclusion in the Bundesliga Team of the Year in 2019/20.

After a brief but brilliant stint at Inter Milan, where the Moroccan won the Serie A title, Hakimi signed for PSG for a fee of €60m. He has evolved into one of Europe’s best-attacking full-backs in Ligue 1, winning three consecutive league titles and providing a constant source of ammunition to the Parisian side’s forward line.

In 2022, he was the leading light of a Morocco team that became the first African nation to reach the World Cup semi-finals in Qatar.

Read – Five who played for both Bayern Munich and Real Madrid

See more – Five of the best Champions League semi-finals ever

Subscribe to our social channels:

Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | TikTok