Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has taken a bizarre unprovoked swipe at Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, claiming the player just wants to increase his bank balance.

Aubameyang left Borussia Dortmund for what was their second-highest transfer fee at the time – around £57m – joining Arsenal in January 2018. He’s gone on to be a big success with the Gunners too, scoring 49 goals and assisting 11 in 73 appearances so far.

Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke is clearly very upset about that fact, as he took a needless shot at Aubameyang this week.

“Aubameyang, who plays great at Arsenal, will probably be warm-hearted when he looks at his bank account, but on Wednesdays, will be saddened when he has to watch the Champions League on television,” Watzke told Suddeutsche Zeitung (via Metro).

“Some go to clubs because of this money, where they have not played Champions League for years.”

In 2017, Aubameyang scored the winner for Dortmund in the DFB Pokal final, the German cup. They lifted the trophy thanks to his goal, their only major silverware since 2012. The striker gave half a decade to the club, scoring 141 goals for them.

Dortmund now sit eighth in the Bundesliga, and the summit of their European achievements last season was getting knocked out by Tottenham Hotspur in the first knockout round.

It must be upsetting for Watzke to see German rivals Bayern Munich thrash the Spurs team his club’s side couldn’t score one goal against in two legs. He can’t dwell on that sadness for too long though, as he needs to focus on watching Dortmund lose every domestic competition to them as well.

It’s a shame that someone in a position of authority at a club as big as Borussia Dortmund feels the need for personal jibes at one of their all-time great strikers.

Maybe Aubameyang would still be at the club if Watzke had just rejected Arsenal’s bid instead of cashing in to help line his own pockets.