Pascal Groß is moving from Borussia Dortmund to his former club Brighton & Hove Albion with immediate effect. BVB confirmed this on Friday.
According to media reports, the transfer fee could be up to three million euros. The clubs did not provide any official information about this. The 34-year-old had a contract with BVB until June 30, 2026.
The Mannheim native moved from FC Ingolstadt to Brighton in 2017. He played 261 competitive games for the club from southern England, was a crowd favorite, a regular player and became a national player in 2023 at the ripe footballing age of 32. Dortmund signed Groß from Brighton & Hove for seven million euros at the beginning of the 2024/25 season.
Dortmund meets the player’s wishes
“Pascal has been an important player for us over the past year and a half, especially helping us to qualify for the Champions League in the final stretch of last season,” said Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl.
“He has now approached us with the desire for a change that would give him more playing time than he had hoped for so far this season. We have complied with this because Pascal is a top professional and we have a very high level of appreciation and respect for his demeanor on and off the pitch.”
Kovac: We don’t want to ruin his World Cup chance
BVB coach Niko Kovac said at the training camp in Marbella: “This hurts me personally a lot. I really valued him as a person and as a player. He wants to go to the World Cup, that’s his declared goal. We didn’t want to stop him from doing that.”
Dortmund will not sign a replacement for Groß and will instead rely on existing alternatives. “We are very well positioned in the position. Now Salih Özcan will certainly come into play again,” said Kovac.
Only seven Starting eleven appearances
Groß had recently moved into the second tier in Dortmund and was only in the starting line-up seven times this Bundesliga season and not at all in the Champions League. The midfielder played his last international match in September.
“For me, being able to play for Borussia Dortmund was a lifelong dream come true,” explained Groß. “Especially playing in front of the Yellow Wall in our stadium was always an indescribable feeling. I would like to thank BVB and the people responsible and wish the club and its incredible fans all the best.”
Our sources:
- News agency dpa and sid
- Message from Borussia Dortmund
Broadcast: WDR.de“Pascal Groß moves to Brighton & Hove Albion”, 02/01/20265:26 p.m
