Five who played for both: Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund | OneFootball

Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund battle it out this evening in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.

Ahead of tonight’s encounter, we’ve looked at five players who have represented both clubs.

Five who played for both: Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund

Robert Lewandowski

At the ripe age of 36, Robert Lewandowski is still tearing up defences in La Liga.

The striker has netted an astounding 38 goals in all competitions this campaign, including nine in the Champions League.

It feels like a lifetime ago that the prolific Pole was donning the yellow and black of Dortmund.

During his four-year spell with Dortmund, Lewandowski truly established himself as one of the continent’s most lethal forwards.

A four-goal haul against Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals will live long in the memory of any Dortmund fan. However, his legacy at the Signal Iduna Park was tarnished in 2014, when he joined rivals Bayern Munich on a free. Ouch.

Lewandowski scored 344 goals in 375 games during eight spectacular seasons at Bayern, before joining Barcelona in search of a new challenge in 2022. He’s rapidly closing in on a century of goals for the Catalans.

Iconic Performances: Lewandowski’s four-goal destruction of Real Madrid

Ousmane Dembele

Barcelona parted ways with an initial €105m to sign Ousmane Dembele in 2017, a deal that ranks among the most expensive in the club’s history.

The Frenchman burst onto the scene in Dortmund and became renowned for his agility, fancy footwork and equal proficiency with both feet. He struck fear into almost every defender in Europe and was destined for the upper echelons of the game.

However, his lucrative move to the Camp Nou didn’t quite go to plan. A combination of persistent injuries and inconsistent performances saw Dembele fail to reach his potential in Spain.

Fast-forward to the present day and the winger is in the prime of his career at 27 years old. This campaign has seen the talented trickster fulfil the destiny that he was labelled with all those years ago. For Paris Saint-Germain, Dembele has accumulated 39 goal contributions in all competitions this term, including seven goals in Europe.

Not only did Barcelona lose a massive sum on their investment, but may have also provided a direct rival with the weapon they need to finally lift the Champions League.

Marc Bartra

Bartra is one of several products of the famous ‘La Masia’ academy to make over a century of appearances for his boyhood club.

While with Barcelona, the central defender won 13 honours, including five league titles and two Champions Leaguetrophies. His status at club level also saw him earn 14 senior caps for Spain.

He spent 18 months at Borussia Dortmund after departing the Spanish giants and lifted the DFB Pokal in his first season.

At 34, Bartra is entering the twilight of his career. He’s currently part of a Real Betis side chasing Champions League qualification and Europa Conference League success.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Amid his acrobatic celebrations, outlandish hairstyles and off-the-pitch antics, it’s easy to forget that Auba represented Barcelona.

After the atmosphere at Arsenal had turned sour between the forward and newly appointed manager Mikel Arteta, Barcelona offered Aubameyang an attractive alternative.

It was a productive yet fleeting spell with the five-time Champions League winners. He managed 11 league goals in just 17 outings in the second half of the 2021/22 season.

However, the following campaign he made a shock return to the English capital. Barcelona’s poor financial situation forced him out the door and he subsequently joined Arsenal’s London rivals Chelsea.

Aubameyang had announced his arrival as one of Europe’s best goal-getters during a four-and-a-half year spell at Dortmund. Signed from Saint-Etienne in 2013, he scored 141 goals in 213 appearances for the German side and was the Bundesliga’s top scorer after netting 31 times in 32 league games in 2016/17.

Nowadays, Gabon’s all-time record goal scorer plies his trade in the Saudi Pro League for Al Qadasiya. He certainly still knows where the back of the net is, having found it on 14 occasions for his current employers.

Ilkay Gundogan

Ilkay Gundogan’s technical excellence has also graced the hallowed turfs of the Signal Iduna Park and the Camp Nou.

The German midfielder memorably dispatched a penalty in the 2013 Champions League final at Wembley. However, the coolly-taken spot-kick was in vain, as Bayern Munich’s Arjen Robben rolled in a dramatic late winner during the first all-German decider.

He became Pep Guardiola’s first signing as Manchester City manager and enjoyed a trophy-laden spell at the Etihad, before joining Barcelona on a free transfer in 2023.

However, he spent just one year at the club before returning to Manchester.

Read – Barcelona vs Borussia Dortmund – Match preview and team news

See more – Champions League highlights: Arsenal stun Real as Inter beat Bayern

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