OFFICIAL: Borussia Dortmund confirm Mats Hummels will sign for Bayern Munich this summer

This is from an ESPN article and this is why we're upset:

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BY STEFAN BUCZKO ShareTweet14 Apr 28, 2016 Hummels's dumping of Dortmund for Bayern a bitter pill to swallow

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ESPN FC's Steve Nicol assesses the latest news surrounding Mats Hummels' interest in a move to Bayern Munich. On Thursday afternoon Borussia Dortmund announced in an ad-hoc report that defender Mats Hummels formulated his wish to leave the club and join league rivals FC Bayern, despite being under contract with Dortmund through the 2016-17 season.

Even though it will depend on Bayern's offer for a deal to be finalised this summer, the news landed like a punch to the gut for every Borussia Dortmund fan. However, it didn't arrive completely out of the blue. Yet, the mere idea of seeing the 27-year-old club captain moving back to bitter rivals Bayern after more than eight years of loyal service was unthinkable at the beginning of the season.

Borussia Dortmund fans could have lived better seeing their fan-favourite leave abroad for Champions League contender, but a move to Bayern was always going to be the worst-case scenario and will leave some with an even bigger sense of betrayal than when Mario Gotze left in 2013 because of what Hummels stands -- or rather stood for at the club.

Hummels, of course, joined the Westfalians in 2008 from none other than Bayern Munich. On loan at first, it was the lack of perspective at Bayern that forced Hummels to leave after going through all of Bayern's youth-ranks.

Former Bayern coach Jurgen Klinsmann had opted for centre-back Breno Borges instead -- a decision that has been regretted in Bavaria for many years to come. Dortmund signed the 20-year-old Hummels for €4 million in 2009. Now eight-and-a-half years later, many Borussia Dortmund fans find themselves broken-hearted at finding out that their team captain is snubbing them to go the "easy way" at Bayern.

"If I sign a long-term deal now, I will be 31 or 32 when it expires. And right now I don't plan on playing until I am 38," Hummels told Bild Am Sontag in mid-April. "I realise in every year I don't win a title, I'm closer to retiring. The Champions League is a target for me in any case. I want to win this title." This was an acknowledgement that his priorities had shifted in the last few years.

It was Hummels more than anyone else who was the face of the Dortmund's "rebellion" against the established league leaders FC Bayern that started under previous manager Jurgen Klopp with two Bundesliga wins, including a domestic double in 2011-2012. On the field, he has been integral for BVB's success. His modern, forward defending and especially his build up play have formed Hummels to one of the most complete centre-backs in the world.

Mats Hummels with Bayern Mats Hummels hopes to return to the club where he made his Bundesliga debut. For the most part of his eight years at Dortmund, Hummels has consistently played on a world-class level. He was the only Dortmund player who featured on Germany's World Cup-winning campaign in 2014 and his personal crisis in form was very much connected with BVB's malaise in the last year under Klopp that saw the team finish a disappointing seventh place in the league.

While watching Hummels play the beautiful game can be breathtaking in itself, as his graceful moves remind viewers of Franz Beckenbauer back in his day, the centre-back gave Dortmund fans even more than that. It was the warm and fuzzy feeling that there was hope for otherwise disillusioned football romantics.

As a key Borussia Dortmund player left the club seemingly every summer starting in 2011 [Nuri Sahin, Shinji Kagawa, Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski], Hummels remained loyal to his team despite similarly lucrative offers, whispering sweet nothings into the Dortmund fans ears, speaking about virtues like the great bonding friendship within the team and the unique feeling of winning a title with Borussia Dortmund.

In their eyes, he was fighting the good fight. It was Hummels, who could not comprehend Gotze's move from Dortmund to the bitter rivals in 2013. In an interview with Sport Bild, he even publicly criticised Gotze for the move.

"No [I cannot understand his decision], and that's how I told him too. Everyone can see how good our team is. I don't believe that there are or was any sporting reason to leave us. One could see how our team developed and Mario got along well with many here, which is why I was so angry about the fact that he was of the opinion of having to leave so early."

And when he penned his current deal in 2014, Hummels said: "I don't have to have won eight championships by the end of my career. I'd rather do something special. I'd rather win one championship as a leading figure rather than as part-time worker." It was another passive-aggressive remark towards Gotze, but also one taking the lead against the Bavarian oppression: "It has to be the aim of more teams in Germany to break Bayern's dominance."

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