Return to former club
After a lightning farewell: Ex-BVB star talks about a change
January 5, 2026 – 7:41 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
The move away from Borussia Dortmund was completed quickly. Now Pascal Groß comments on the reasons for the farewell – and makes something clear.
In the end, Pascal Groß spent less than a year and a half at Borussia Dortmund. The midfielder only moved from Brighton & Hove Albion from the Premier League to BVB in the summer of 2024, but recently played no role in his second season under coach Niko Kovač. At the turn of the year, Groß surprisingly returned to Brighton in a lightning move.
Now the 34-year-old has commented on the reasons for the Brighton return and his situation in Dortmund. “Of course it’s never easy for a thoroughbred footballer like me when you play less than you imagine. That’s been very difficult in the last few months,” said Groß in the “Kicker”, but also noted: “But there were also good moments and I’ve never lost my interest in football.”
Groß emphasized that there were no difficulties with coach Kovač: “Of course I wasn’t happy. But football is often a matter of opinion. A coach has to make his decisions, but so do I as a player. From a human perspective, everything is okay. I’m looking forward now.”
The idea of daring to make a comeback with his former club had matured in him over the course of the season: “When I was no longer able to play in Dortmund, I wanted to go back to a place where I can have more influence and play more often so that I can also recommend myself for the World Cup,” Groß also revealed his big goal of returning to the German national team.
The contact with the German Brighton coach was never broken: “I have always been in contact with Fabian (Hürzeler, editor’s note) since I left. We spoke and the clubs reached an agreement towards the end of the year. It was important to me to play in January and not to change at the end of January and lose a month.”
Conversations with national coach Julian Nagelsmann also helped him: “We were in contact, even when I wasn’t invited recently. The exact content remains between us, but basically he made it clear to everyone that playing time is important. Brighton wasn’t my only option, but I can gain a foothold here the quickest.”
During his comeback in Brighton last Saturday, Groß was greeted with great applause by the fans. In the 2-0 win against Burnley FC, the returnee came on as a substitute in the 71st minute.