Sadio Mane has rejected any notion of a rivalry with former Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah after the new Bayern Munich signing won his second African Player of the Year honour on Thursday.

Mane, 30, previously won the award in 2019, and earned it again after helping Senegal win their first African Cup of Nations crown, while being named Player of the Tournament.

In the process, he became Senegal's all-time leading goalscorer, finding the net 33 times from 91 senior caps.

Mane and Salah have now split the past four African Player of the Year awards evenly, with Salah winning in 2017 and 2018, and Mane now the winner in 2019 and 2022. The award was not given out in both 2020 and 2021.

Speaking with Goal ahead of the ceremony, Mane insisted he has a great relationship with Egyptian icon Salah.

"People sometimes say there's a rivalry between me and [Salah], but you know I don’t see myself having a rivalry with any player to be honest," he said.

"We have good relations, we text each other. I think the media always try to [aggravate] things.

"You know I don’t just have [relationships] with one player, but with every player I’ve played with in the world. 

"You can ask whoever you want in the club, or wherever I go. I have good relationships with all players."

Mane's time with Bayern has started well, scoring from the penalty spot just five minutes into his debut friendly against D.C. United this week in a 6-2 win.

Julian Nagelsmann praised Matthijs de Ligt and Sadio Mane after they marked their Bayern Munich debuts by scoring in a 6-2 rout of DC United.

De Ligt scored with a sweet volley less than two minutes after coming on as a half-time substitute at Audi Field on Wednesday after Mane had opened the scoring from the penalty spot early on.

Netherlands defender De Ligt was only on the field for 25 minutes before he was withdrawn by Nagelsmann, but the Bayern head coach allayed concerns that his new recruit from Juventus may have sustained an injury.

Mane, signed from Liverpool last month, also set up a goal for Serge Gnabry before Nagelsmann sent out a totally different side for the second half.

Nagelsmann was pleased the impact his new signings made and allayed concerns over De Ligt's fitness ahead of a friendly against Manchester City in Green Bay on Saturday.

He said: "Both players have made a good start.

"Matthijs scored a brilliant goal with his left foot. I saw his impressive passing with his left foot in training today, and now this brilliant finish as well." 

Nagelsmann added of De Ligt's withdrawal: "He's not got an injury, nothing unusual happened. I think he'll be fit again tomorrow and will be able to play on Saturday."

Ryan Gravenberch and Noussair Mazraoui also caught the eye on their debuts, with the former providing an assist for Thomas Muller to complete the scoring.

Nagelsmann said: "Both have done really well, especially in training.

"The final ball from Ryan was brilliant. He's big but he's very quick on his feet. He played a great pass to Thomas."

Frenkie de Jong reportedly has no interest in signing with Manchester United, instead preferring either Chelsea or Bayern Munich if he is to leave Barcelona.

De Jong has been at the centre of Barcelona's transfer period, with widespread belief that the club must sell the 25-year-old to balance their books.

The Netherlands international has racked up 140 club appearances for Barcelona in his three seasons since arriving from Ajax, and he is determined to have a say in where he spends the next few years of his prime.

TOP STORY – DE JONG PREFERS CHELSEA, BAYERN OVER OLD TRAFFORD MOVE

In an explosive report from Spanish publication Sport, it says De Jong "does not like the city of Manchester or the functioning of United", with claims he feels the club has displayed "erratic behaviour" in recent years.

It also makes clear that he values Champions League football greatly at this point in his career, and any move away from the Spanish giants would need to land him at a club on equal footing.

According to the report, Chelsea are waiting for De Jong to officially decline United's approach before presenting a formal offer, but there is interest. 

Ultimately, he would prefer to stay at Barcelona, and if the club cannot clear up the issue of his significant unpaid wages, he may get his way.

ROUND-UP

– Chelsea have set their sights on 20-year-old RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol, with The Sun declaring him the Blues' top target to replace Cesar Azpilicueta.

– Sky Sports Germany is reporting Borussia Dortmund are weighing up the potential signing of 35-year-old Luis Suarez in the wake of news that Sebastien Haller will be out indefinitely after the discovery of a testicular tumour.

– West Ham remain engaged with Chelsea as they try to pry away 20-year-old Albanian striker Armando Broja, who Thomas Tuchel is said to be a fan of.

– With fullback Marc Cucurella likely heading to Manchester City, Brighton are considering a loan move for Arsenal's Nuno Tavares to plug the hole, according to O Jogo.

– The Guardian claims Jesse Lingard is in advanced talks to join Nottingham Forest, with the Daily Mail adding they have offered £200,000 to try and fend off interest from West Ham.

Debutants Sadio Mane and Matthijs de Ligt both scored in their first friendly appearance for their new club as Bayern Munich defeated DC United 6-2 on Wednesday.

Mane, fresh off his move away from Liverpool, did not have to wait long to open his account, stepping up to the penalty spot after Lucas Copado was brought down less than five minutes into the action.

He made no mistake from the spot, hammering his penalty into the left side of the goal to give Bayern a 1-0 lead in the fifth minute.

Marcel Sabitzer doubled the advantage in the 12th minute with a strike from the top of the box that wrong-footed the DC goalkeeper, and Serge Gnabry made it 3-0 at the break when he got on the end of a Mane assist in the 44th minute.

Bayern subbed on an entirely different 11 for the second half, including new arrival from Juventus De Ligt, and he made an emphatic entrance, firing home a left-foot volley from a corner to score 90 seconds later.

Joshua Zirkzee made it 5-0 in the 51st minute after an assist from Kingsley Coman, before DC finally answered back with a Skage Leland strike in the 54th.

Theodore Ku-Dipietro would give the American side something else to cheer for with his goal in the 83rd minute, before Bayern icon Thomas Muller completed the rout to make it 6-2 in the 92nd.

Bayern Munich could be nearing further additions to their squad after Oliver Kahn confirmed talks with Mathys Tel, Konrad Laimer and David Raum. 

The Bundesliga champions have already signed big-name duo Sadio Mane and Matthijs de Ligt, while the promising Ryan Gravenberch and Noussair Mazraoui have arrived from Ajax. 

Speaking at a news conference to present De Ligt to the media after his €80million arrival from Juventus, Kahn revealed he expects there to be further movement. 

Teenage Rennes forward Tel, experienced RB Leipzig midfielder Laimer and Germany international Raum have all been linked with a switch to the Allianz Arena. 

"We have had further discussions with these players and now we just have to wait and see," said Bayern CEO Kahn on Wednesday. 

"The transfer window is still open for a while. Sometimes things move very quickly. 

"After analysing last season, we thought we should make a few statements. We want to continue to be among the top four teams in Europe." 

Bayern have lost star striker Robert Lewandowski to Barcelona, with the Catalan giants continuing to make significant outlays in the transfer market despite questions about their finances. 

Julian Nagelsmann openly questioned the situation at Barca but Kahn was far more cautious on the subject. 

"You can't be fooled by all the transfers from Barcelona. I'm not a fan of judging things from the outside," said Kahn. 

"None of us can really judge how the situation is. I find that a bit difficult. They'll know what they're doing because they're the only ones who really know the numbers." 

Robert Lewandowski declared "I want to make history" as he addressed Barcelona supporters in Miami following his move from Bayern Munich.

The Poland international pushed for a move to Camp Nou throughout the close season, with Barca finally securing the talisman in a deal worth up to €50million, including add-ons.

Lewandowski, who scored the most goals in Europe's top-five leagues across all competitions last season (50), has signed a four-year contract with the Blaugrana, with a €500m buyout clause included.

The 33-year-old appeared alongside Barca president Joan Laporta in the United States, where the Blaugrana are on a pre-season tour, and was quick to outline his ambitions to leave a legacy with the LaLiga giants.

"I am very happy to be here. It took a lot to get here, but I have finally arrived," Lewandowski said on Wednesday, a day after watching his new team-mates beat Inter Miami 6-0.

"This is wonderful. Yesterday I saw the team win and I saw that it is a team with a lot of potential and great quality.

"I love belonging to this club with so much history. I am very happy, it is a club with many titles.

"As a striker, I want to score goals to help the team, that's the best solution. It's a new challenge for me. In football, you always have to be hungry and I am.

"I always want to score and I always want to win. I want to make history here."

Lewandowski scored the most goals in each of the past five seasons in the Bundesliga, where he is the competition's second-highest scorer in history (312), behind only Bayern legend Gerd Muller (365).

Xavi will hope Lewandowski can partner with new arrivals Raphinha, Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen as Barca look to remove the gap to LaLiga champions Real Madrid in the upcoming campaign.

Julian Nagelsmann has questioned Barcelona's transfer dealings in this window after the club completed a move for Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski.

The Poland international has made the move to Camp Nou in a €50million deal, including add-ons, signing a four-year contract with the Blaugrana.

The veteran striker has already linked up with his new squad and was in the crowd for their 6-0 pre-season rout of Inter Miami on Tuesday.

Yet Bayern boss Nagelsmann has been left baffled by the club's transfer activity, given their well-publicised financial difficulties.

Barca have also signed Raphinha from Leeds United in a deal reportedly worth up to €67million, including add-ons, despite facing stringent fiscal limits.

"They got a lot of new players, not only Robert," Nagelsmann said.

"I don't know how to be honest, it's the only club in the world that can buy players without money. It's kind of weird and crazy."

Barca also have signed Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen on free transfers, but questions remain over registering their new recruits.

The Blaugrana will likely have to offload players in order to free up financial cap space to fit La Liga's rules, with Frenkie de Jong long linked with a move to Manchester United.

Bayern, meanwhile, have moved to strengthen with the transfer of Matthijs de Ligt this week from Juventus, following their earlier purchase of Sadio Mane from Liverpool.

Oliver Kahn has revealed Matthijs de Ligt was quickly won over by the prospect of joining Bayern Munich from Juventus.

The defender has agreed to switch from Serie A to the Bundesliga and confirmation of his move on a five-year contract was widely expected to come on Tuesday.

Dutch centre-back De Ligt spent three seasons with Juventus, winning the Scudetto in the first of those campaigns before the Turin giants slipped to consecutive fourth-placed finishes.

He leaves to join a Bayern side who have won 10 consecutive domestic league titles, with Kahn confident the new acquisition will fortify coach Julian Nagelsmann's defence.

Former goalkeeper Kahn, who is now Bayern's CEO, said: "If you look at the last two or three years, we've been very successful, but we've conceded one or two too many goals."

The outlay on De Ligt, reported to be €70million plus €10m in potential add-ons, is targeted at ensuring Bayern are more secure at the back.

"De Ligt is big, strong in tackles, strong in the air, he has a good build-up game. He's someone who likes to lead and is loud," Kahn said, quoted widely by German media.

Kahn, speaking on Bayern's US tour, said talking De Ligt into joining was "very easy", just "like Sadio Mane".

Kahn revealed how Senegal forward Mane had "thought for two days" before deciding to leave Liverpool for Bayern in June.

"It was the same with Matthijs de Ligt," said Kahn.

Bayern have lost Niklas Sule on a free transfer to Borussia Dortmund, and Omar Richards left for Nottingham Forest.

It remains to be seen whether Nagelsmann and Bayern elect to move on other fringe defenders after landing their prime target in De Ligt, but no such outgoing move appears imminent.

"At the moment we're not thinking in those categories," Kahn said.

Matthijs de Ligt is on the verge of completing a move from Juventus to Bayern Munich, the defender's agent Rafaela Pimenta has confirmed.

Reports of a fee being agreed between the two clubs, said to be in the region of €70million potentially rising to €80m, first emerged on Sunday.

De Ligt was pictured heading to an airport in Turin on Monday for a flight expected to take him to Bavaria to finalise personal terms with the Bundesliga champions.

The 22-year-old centre-back's agent was also present and stated to reporters that she does not anticipate any glitches to prevent the transfer from going through.

"Everything is perfect," Pimenta said. "He is going to Bayern and is happy. We have to thank Juventus, who have been very good with Matthijs."

The Netherlands international played 2,675 minutes for Juventus last season – the most of any outfield player – and provides a timely boost for Bayern after they lost Robert Lewandowski to Barcelona.

De Ligt, the first 17-year-old to represent Oranje since 1931 when making his debut five years ago, had spent three seasons at Juve.

He started his career with Ajax and was part of the 2018-19 team that reached the Champions League semi-finals, two years after finishing as runners-up in the Europa League.

De Ligt will become Bayern's fourth arrival of the transfer window, having already brought in Noussair Mazraoui, Ryan Gravenberch and Sadio Mane.

With the end of one transfer saga comes the start of another. 

Robert Lewandowski has secured a long-awaited move to Barcelona, fulfilling a "dream" in the process and leaving Bayern Munich in the market for a new striker to lead their line.

But just how do you go about finding a like-for-like replacement for the most prolific marksman anywhere in the world?

One suggestion is that Bayern will make do with what they have, with Sadio Mane – a wide forward rather than a striker – having already been recruited from Liverpool this window.

While that may work, there are other potential options out there for Bayern to consider ahead of their latest title defence as they aim to win the Bundesliga for an 11th time in a row.

Here, Stats Perform takes a closer look at exactly what the Bavarian giants are losing in Lewandowski, and where they could go next.

LEWY LEADS THE WAY

Labelling Lewandowski as the best striker in European football is not hyperbolic when assessing the cold hard facts. 

The Poland international is coming off the back of a campaign that saw him register 50 goals in 46 games in all competitions, which is six goals more than the next-best Karim Benzema among players from Europe's top five leagues.

It is not like Lewandowski's output levels were dropping, either. The 35 league goals he registered last season are second only to the record-breaking 41 netted in the 2020-21 campaign across his 12 seasons in the German top flight with Borussia Dortmund and then Bayern.

Indeed, he has finished as the league's top scorer in each of the past five seasons, scoring 161 goals across that period, with no other player managing such a long streak in the competition's history. 

BEST OF THE REST

Put simply, Bayern surely cannot match those numbers with one player alone. If it is a pure goalscorer the German champions are after to fill the void, the aforementioned Benzema would be their best bet, the Real Madrid striker having scored 44 goals in 46 games last time out.

Persuading Madrid to let go of their focal point in attack would be nigh-on impossible, of course, likewise with Kylian Mbappe – Europe's third most prolific player in the 2021-22 season (39 goals in 46 games) – at Paris Saint-Germain.

Next on that particular list is RB Leipzig's highly-rated talent Cristopher Nkunku, who scored 35 goals in 52 matches last season and also chipped in with 16 assists. When purely weighing up goal involvements, Nkunku was only five short of Lewandowski last season, in a team with far less quality.

Indeed, Nkunku's 35 strikes last season came from an expected goals (xG) value of 28.23, meaning that he found the net 6.77 times more than he should have judging by the quality of the chances. Only Benzema (9.9) can better than across Europe's top five leagues.

Nkunku is not strictly a number nine, though, and his arrival – even if Bayern could tempt Leipzig into selling – would mean Julian Nagelsmann having to adapt his system in the final third of the field.

FORGET KANE... GO FOR KALAJDZIC

The likes of Timo Werner, Patrick Schick and Harry Kane are other names to have been touted as possible replacements for Lewandowski. Kane in particular would suit Bayern's system, and Bayern CEO Oliver Kahn admitted last week it would be a "dream" signing – while at the same time completely dismissing a move for wantaway Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo.

With another couple of years to run on Kane's contract, however, and Tottenham demanding a nine-figure sum from Manchester City this time last year, the Bavarians would have to spend big to bring in the England international.

For a club that has only once spent in excess of €40m on an attacking player – Leroy Sane from Manchester City two years ago – and having already splashed the cash to bring in Mane from Liverpool, that seems unlikely to happen.

There is more than goals alone to judging just how good a striker is, of course, and some players are certainly more attainable than others. Look no further than Sasa Kalajdzic, who boasts a number of qualities suited to Nagelsmann, not least his presence in the box.

At six foot and seven inches, Kalajdzic is one of the tallest players around and knows how to put that to good use, with exactly half of his 22 Bundesliga goals coming via his head.

Despite playing just 22 top-flight matches since his Stuttgart debut at the end of the 2019-20 season, those 11 headed goals are bettered only by Andre Silva (12) and – him again – Lewandowski (13), who have played 45 and 83 games in that period respectively.

Kalajdzic may have missed most of last season through injury, but six goals in 15 games for a side involved in a relegation scrap suggests he is a player with plenty of potential and, just as importantly, likely to be gettable, as Stuttgart director Sven Mislintat recently admitted given the 25-year-old is out of contract next year.

MANE AND GNABRY TO STEP UP?

Away from the dream options and outside picks to take over from Lewandowski, Kahn himself said last week that in Mane his side already have a ready-made replacement.

Position wise that is not technically true, of course, but there is no doubt that Mane's goals return across his six seasons with Liverpool was mightily impressive.

With 120 goals in all competitions for Liverpool, he averaged a goal every 189 minutes – exactly one every two matches. Mane also assisted 37 goals, meaning he was directly involved in a goal every 137 minutes. 

In the Premier League, only Kane (134), former team-mate Mohamed Salah (118) and Leicester City's Jamie Vardy (104) scored more goals than Mane (90) over the course of his Liverpool career.

Unlike with Liverpool's front three, Bayern have been used to having one focal point up top in Lewandowski.

Serge Gnabry, who recently signed a contract extension at the Allianz Arena, can also play through the middle if called upon, and has done so to good effect for the Germany national side.

If reports from the German media are to be believed, that is the route Nagelsmann will have to go down for the 2022-23 season until a big-name number nine can be recruited further down the line.

Whether it will work will be intriguing to see, with the only certainty in all this being that Bayern can no longer turn to go-to man Lewandowski in their time of need.

Leon Goretzka will miss Bayern Munich's pre-season tour of the United States after undergoing surgery on his troublesome knee injury.

The Germany international only managed 19 Bundesliga appearances in the 2021-22 season after battling an issue with his left knee.

Goretzka has subsequently gone under the knife on Monday, ruling him out of clashes with D.C. United and Manchester City before the DFL-Supercup final against RB Leipzig on July 30.

Reports suggest the 27-year-old could be out for up to two months, leaving Julian Nagelsmann short of midfield options for the early part of the 2022-23 Bundesliga season.

Goretzka would likely have partnered Joshua Kimmich in midfield, with Marcel Sabitzer or new arrival from Ajax Ryan Gravenberch among the potential replacements for the Bundesliga champions.

Bayern may look to push through on their reported interest for Leipzig's Konrad Laimer as another option in midfield, as they prepare for the campaign without Robert Lewandowski, who is set to join Barcelona.

Barcelona made it official on Sunday night by confirming the arrival of last year's Ballon d'Or runner-up Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich.

Lewandowski, who turns 34 next month, netted 50 goals in all club competition this past season, making it seven consecutive seasons with at least 40 goals.

He has also scored a combined 33 goals across his past three Champions League campaigns – seven more than his closest challenger, Real Madrid's Karim Benzema with 26.

With Bayern facing the prospect of keeping an unhappy player and then losing the Poland captain on a free transfer next year, they instead elected to cash in and grant Lewandowski's wish to join Barca.

The Catalan club have been hampered by financial difficulties but managed to put together a bid reportedly worth €50million which has been enough to convince Bayern to part company with their superstar forward.

Barcelona announced on Saturday an agreement in principle had been reached for Lewandowski, with completion of the deal contingent on him passing a medical and contracts being signed.  

Matthijs de Ligt is poised to complete a move to Bayern Munich after Juventus reportedly accepted an offer worth around €80million for the Netherlands defender.

With Robert Lewandowski set to be officially presented as a Barcelona player on Monday, Bundesliga champions Bayern are poised to announce the significant arrival of De Ligt.

Widespread reports in Germany on Sunday evening said final details of the transfer had been fully agreed between the clubs, with Kicker saying the 22-year-old will sign a five-year contract.

Negotiations have been handled by Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic, who as a defender had playing spells with the Bavarian giants and Juventus.

Sport1 said Bayern would pay an initial €70million, with a further €10million in add-ons helping to sweeten the deal.

The news of progress follows Bayern CEO Oliver Kahn saying on Saturday that De Ligt "wants to join".

Kahn told Blickpunkt Sport: "We had talks and the player wants to come to FC Bayern. We'll have more discussions and then see how it goes."

De Ligt played 2,675 minutes as Juventus finished fourth in Serie A last season - more than any of his outfield team-mates.

Although Bayern are now resigned to losing Lewandowski, who scored 50 goals last season, they are rebuilding as Julian Nagelsmann freshens up his squad.

Sadio Mane arrived from Liverpool in an eye-catching deal, with Ryan Gravenberch and Noussair Mazraoui joining from Eredivisie champions Ajax, the club at which De Ligt began his career.

Centre-back De Ligt will strengthen an area where Bayern have required reinforcement to improve competition for places, arguably even before Niklas Sule left on a free transfer to Borussia Dortmund.

Robert Lewandowski believes the scheming that has pushed him to the brink of joining Barcelona will be worth any upset it has caused.

After hitting 50 goals across all competitions for Bayern Munich last season, Lewandowski is on the brink of ending his eight-year spell with the Bundesliga champions.

It emerged that Lewandowski wanted to leave as Bayern wrapped up their 10th consecutive German league title.

The 33-year-old Poland international spoke of his clear desire to move on, a year before the end of his contract, and such straight talking left no doubt that he considered his time in Bavaria to be over.

It left Bayern needing to negotiate the best possible deal with Barcelona, and it was confirmed on Saturday that a fee has been agreed, reported to be around the €50million mark.

Bayern had denied they wanted to sell Lewandowski, and in doing so managed to drive up the offer to a level that suited them.

Speaking to German newspaper Bild, Lewandowski outlined his feelings now that he is set for the switch to LaLiga.

"I said that both sides did things that were unnecessary," Lewandowski said. "But maybe certain things had to happen so that the transfer was possible in the end.

"I think both sides are happy now. Bayern get a lot of money, I can go to Barcelona. It was a long, difficult road, but I think that in the end everyone can look each other in the eye."

In the 2020-21 campaign, Lewandowski broke Gerd Muller's long-standing Bundesliga record by scoring 41 goals in a single season, while his 43 league goals in 2021 serve as the record for a calendar year in Germany's top tier.

Lewandowski's total of 312 Bundesliga goals is the second-most scored by any player in the history of the competition, behind Muller (365), while he leaves Bayern having accumulated 344 goals and 57 assists across 375 appearances in all competitions.

"I wanted to play in a league other than the Bundesliga, I had made that decision a long time ago," Lewandowski said. "But I have to emphasise that it was the most difficult decision of my life."

The former Borussia Dortmund striker said he needed to make a decision due to his daughter, Klara, being about to start school.

"If not now, it would probably never have been possible," he said. "It was a unique opportunity."

Sebastian Haller says he does not want to be labelled as "someone's successor" after replacing Erling Haaland at Borussia Dortmund.

Haaland scored 86 goals in 89 appearances during his two-and-a-half-year spell at Dortmund before making a big-money move to Manchester City last month.

That tally was bettered by only Robert Lewandowski (123 in 108 games) and Kylian Mbappe (93 in 111 games) of players from Europe's top five leagues during that period.

Dortmund swiftly acted to replace the Norway international, signing Haller from Ajax for a reported €36million and exciting forward Karim Adeyemi from RB Salzburg.

Haller caught the eye with Ajax during a talismanic 18-month spell that included 11 goals in just eight Champions League appearances in the 2021-22 season.

But the Ivory Coast striker was quick to dismiss comparisons with Haaland, insisting he did not want to be viewed as a replacement for the prolific striker.

"I'm not coming to Borussia Dortmund as someone's successor, but because the club needs my quality," he told reporters on Sunday at Dortmund's Bad Ragaz training camp in Switzerland. 

"So I'll do my best to give back the confidence. I knew that BVB had been interested for a long time, by that I mean during the last season.

"But there is a big difference between interest and the transfer fee. When it became concrete, I felt that Dortmund had a very good option for me. In the end, it certainly wasn't a bad deal for Ajax either."

Barcelona struck a deal with Bayern Munich on Saturday to bring Lewandowski to the Blaugrana for a reported €50m, including add-ons.

The Poland captain scored 50 goals last season in all competitions, more than any other player in Europe's top five leagues, but Haller refused to suggest Bayern would be weaker without Lewandowski.

"Time will tell. I'm here now to play for Borussia Dortmund and do my best. Not to talk about the situation at other clubs," he added.

"It doesn't matter to me whether he still played at Bayern or not. I want to win games with my team. I don't focus on other teams.

"First of all, to be able to achieve anything, we have to win our games. If we're not successful, then we don't need to look at others anyway.

"I focus on the way we play, on our team, and I want to adapt quickly instead of worrying about our opponents getting weaker. It's like this: If you want to win titles, you have to focus on yourself."

Dortmund start their new campaign with a DFB-Pokal tie against 1860 Munich on July 26, with their Bundesliga season starting at home to Bayer Leverkusen on August 6.