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Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke claims that they beat Bayern Munich to the signature of French starlet Ousmane Dembele, but admits it will be harder to halt the Bavarians bid for a fifth straight German league title.

The new German league season starts tomorrow with Bayern, under new head coach Carlo Ancelotti, hosting Werder Bremen at Munich’s Allianz Arena while Dortmund start their Bundesliga season on Saturday at home to Mainz.

Winger Dembele was voted France’s Young Player of the Year last season and Dortmund paid Stade Rennes €15 million (approximately R238 million) in the off season, beating Bayern to the 19-year-old’s signature.

“At that moment, we were quicker (than Bayern), but I don’t know how deep their interest was,” Watzke told Sport1.

“We got to him early and discovered him before he had played in the (French) league.

“He is an exceptional talent, but there is more to it than that, he has to learn the language and assimilate.” – AFP.