Heynckes slams 'selfish' Aubameyang

Jupp Heynckes slammed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for being "selfish" at Borussia Dortmund and insisted he would refuse the chance to sign players who only want to follow their own goals.

Aubameyang's relationship with the Dortmund hierarchy appears to be at breaking point, with the Gabon international being strongly linked with a move to Arsenal.

The striker incurred the wrath of club officials by missing a team meeting before last weekend's 0-0 Bundesliga draw with Wolfsburg, resulting in head coach Peter Stoger dropping him from the squad.

Stoger revealed on Thursday that he had spoken with the striker and things appeared to have been cleared up, but later that day Aubameyang was left off the squad list for Friday's trip to Hertha Berlin - sporting director Michael Zorc suggesting he was not entirely focused.

Aubameyang is said to be attempting to force through a move to Arsenal and Heynckes believes such behaviour reflects the lack of morality in the money-obsessed world of modern football.

When asked at his news conference about football's decline in terms of morality, Heynckes said: "That exists all along, but at the moment there are totally different dimensions, I see that very critically.

"I think footballers are very privileged, all the more if you see how hard many people have to work for their salary. So, I think professional ethics and morals belong to this. You have to see what's going on in the society.

"Things which happened with Aubameyang and [Ousmane] Dembele I see very critically. The clubs which sign those players have to be aware; they [Aubameyang and Dembele] could do the same to them.

"I would refuse to sign such players. Football is a team sport; you can't just be selfish and follow your own goals. You have to think about the fans as well.

"We have to pay attention so that the fans don't turn their backs on us and football.

"If I see that Arsenal was not really successfully in the last years but their tickets became more and more expensive, that's a problem. In Anderlecht our fans protested against the ticket prices - and they were totally right."

17 January 2018

With respect to the Aubameyang's situation, Heynckes does not necessarily believe that forcing the player to sit out is the right course of action, though he cannot imagine a player behaving in such a way at Bayern.

"I don't think punishing players is the solution," he said. "It's not really feasible to put a player in the stands for a year.

"You have to come to terms with the player, talk to them and make it clear that they've a responsibility to not just look at their account at the end of the month and clap.

"You need guidelines in a club to make it clear that what you do and don't accept, that's the case at Bayern.

"I won't say it never happens at Bayern, but I cannot imagine it."