Bundesliga heavyweight Borussia Dortmund will host French champions Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) at Signal Iduna Park on Wednesday evening (May 1st) for the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final. Both teams are desperate to reach the final at Wembley and will be keen to make a statement in the first leg.
Wednesday’s game will be extra special for PSG stars Achraf Hakimi and Ousmane Dembele as they will return to their old stomping ground wearing the opposition’s badge.
Throughout history, only five players have played for the senior teams of Dortmund and PSG, and today we will look at who they are and how they fared at the clubs. Well, without further ado, let’s get started!
#5 Christian Worns
On July 5, 1998, former German central defender Christian Worns moved from Bayer Leverkusen to Ligue 1 club PSG. On paper it looked like a good transfer, but in the end the marriage turned out to be incompatible. Worns scored two goals in 28 Ligue 1 games, moved to Dortmund in July 1999 and spent the next nine years of his career at Signal Iduna Park.
The former German international with 66 international caps played 303 games for Dortmund between 1999/2000 and 2007/08, scoring 15 goals and providing eight assists. He won the Bundesliga title with Dortmund in 2001/02.
#4 Thomas Meunier
Belgian right-back Thomas Meunier moved to PSG from Club Brugge in July 2016. He quickly became a first name on the team sheet and retained his place for the following four seasons. The Belgium international played 128 games for the club in all competitions, contributing 13 goals and 22 assists. With the Parisians he won three Ligue 1 titles and three Coupe de France.
In July 2020, Meunier signed with Borussia Dortmund and stayed there until moving to Trabzonspor in February 2024. During his stay, the 32-year-old played 83 games, scoring three goals and providing eight assists. The 2020-21 DFB Cup was his only success with Dortmund.
#3 Ashraf Hakimi
As one of the best right-backs in the world, Achraf Hakimi moved from his boyhood club Real Madrid to Borussia Dortmund on a two-season loan in the summer of 2018. His pace and attacking skill allowed him to settle well into the Bundesliga. He quickly became one of the first names on Dortmund’s team sheet. During his loan spell, the 25-year-old played 73 games for Dortmund, scoring 12 goals and providing 17 assists.
He returned to Real Madrid in July 2020 and was sold to Inter Milan in the same transfer window. In his debut season, he helped Inter to the Serie A title with a series of remarkable performances. PSG were impressed with his skills and signed him in July 2021, and he has been playing for them ever since. Over the last three seasons, the Moroccan international has played 116 games for PSG, scoring 14 goals and providing 19 assists. He has won three Ligue 1 titles with Les Parisiens.
#2 Abdou Diallo
The Senegalese central defender Abdou Diallo moved from Mainz 05 to Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2018. He scored one goal in 38 games for the German club in the 2018/19 season before pledging allegiance to PSG.
Diallo spent three seasons in the French capital, providing four assists in 75 games across all competitions. The 27-year-old, who currently plays for Al-Arabi SC, won three Ligue 1 titles and two Coupe de France with PSG, among others.
#1 Ousmane Dembele
Ousmane Dembele moved from Stade Rennes to Borussia Dortmund in July 2016 for a transfer fee of 35 million euros ($37.34 million). He quickly broke into the first team and became a star of the 2016–17 Bundesliga season. This season he played 50 games for Dortmund, scoring ten goals and providing 22 assists.
La Liga giants Barcelona were seriously impressed by his performances and sent him to Catalonia for a transfer fee of 135 million euros ($144.02 million). The move ultimately backfired as injuries and fitness issues prevented Dembele from making the impact his price tag deserved. After six years, Barcelona cut their losses and sold him to PSG for 50 million euros ($53.34 million).
Since joining the Parisians at the start of the 2023/24 season, the 2018 FIFA World Cup winner has appeared in 38 games, scoring five goals and providing 14 assists.