Borussia Dortmund and Thomas Meunier are going their separate ways – three and a half years after the Belgian moved to BVB from Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer. The 32-year-old is joining Turkish first division club Trabzonspor with immediate effect. The clubs confirmed this on Wednesday.
“This week there was a short-term opportunity for Thomas to join a new club before the end of the transfer period. We have complied with his wish for this move, would like to thank Thomas for his commitment and wish him all the best for his sporting and private future “, said Borussia Dortmund’s sports director Sebastian Kehl in a statement to “bvb.de”.
The parties involved did not communicate anything about a transfer fee – Meunier’s contract would not have expired until the summer of 2024. Recently, however, it was said in the media that the full-back would be moving on a free transfer, but that Dortmund would save around four million euros in salary that Meunier would have been entitled to in the coming half-year.
Meunier will wear number 12 at Trabzonspor in the future. He will also meet a player he already knows from Dortmund: Göktan Gürpüz. The 21-year-old moved to Turkey in the summer of 2023, but has only been used sporadically so far.
Meunier was last placed at BVB
Meunier played a total of 86 competitive games for the black and yellow (3 goals/8 assists) and won the DFB Cup with Borussia in 2021. However, the Belgian international was rarely an undisputed regular. Since summer 2022 there have only been 24 competitive games left. Meunier even helped out several times at BVB II in the 3rd league.
However, due to poor form and injuries, Meunier has recently been in the starting line-up seven times in a row. A circumstance that certainly calls the deal into question. However, Julian Ryerson is likely to return to action in Dortmund. The Norwegian would probably have sent Meunier back to the bench anyway.