Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has claimed that the club beat Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich to the signing of French Forward Ousmane Dembele, but insists that the relationship between the two clubs has never been better, according to an interview with Sport1.
Dembele signed for Dortmund from Rennes in May, agreeing a five-year contract, after an impressive campaign that saw the 19-year-old score 12 goals in 26 Ligue 1 appearances.
Both sides have done business with each other this summer, with Mats Hummels returning to Bayern from Dortmund while Mario Gotze and Sebastian Rode have moved in the opposite direction.
Watzke insists Dortmund acted quicker than Bayern in securing the services of the striker, he feels the two clubs enjoy a profitable professional relationship.
"We were in that moment faster [than Bayern in signing Dembele]," said Watzke
"I do not know how deep the interest of Bayern was, but we were very early and had already discovered the player.
"He has exceptional talent, but there are many things he still needs to learn. He needs to learn the language and assimilate here.
"I cannot blame Bayern in this case. We had three talks with Karl-Heinz Rummenigge this year. These were very confident and professional. The relationship to Bayern is as good as it's ever been.
"They have established themselves on the same level as Real Madrid.
"Accordingly, it would be stupid to say that we are attacking Bayern Munich. You should then attack if the opponent has a period of weakness."
Bayern won the first of many battles between the two this season by beating Dortmund 2-0 in the German Super Cup.