Watzke: Mkhitaryan won't extend his contract with Dortmund

Many Dortmund fans hoped that this summer would bring about a positive end to the contract disputes involving Henkrikh Mkhitaryan and the club he has played so well for. Unfortunately, that doesn't look to be happening.

BVB CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has broken the news today, to Bild, that Mkhitaryan will not extend his contract with Dortmund, on which there is one year remaining.

Watzke: "haben 4 Monate mit #Mkhitaryan darüber verhandelt, ob er bei uns verlängert. Jetzt wissen wir, dass er nicht verlängert." [Bild]

— BVB_Aktuell (@BVB_Aktuell) June 14, 2016

This is particularly crushing as Mkhitaryan is coming off his best year yet at the Westfalenstadion. The 27-year-old scored 18 goals in all competitions as he established himself as one of the best players in the Bundesliga.

There is reportedly a lot interest in Mkhitaryan around Europe, and that interest will only surely increase now. Dortmund may very well sell Mkhi this summer to avoid losing him for free next summer. That's what happened with Robert Lewandowski, and Watzke has said he does not want that to happen again.

Mkhi's agent, Mino Raiola, told Bild that Dortmund had promised to sell Henrikh this summer, but are now refusing to let him go. Raiola is not the best influence on the players he represents, and this could get ugly if Mkhi wants to leave but is not granted that wish.

Raiola: "#Micki hat seit Monaten das Versprechen der #BVB-Verantwortlichen, dass er den Verein in diesem Sommer verlassen darf."
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— BVB_Aktuell (@BVB_Aktuell) June 14, 2016

Dortmund's refusal to sell Mkhi may also be a negotiating tactic so that they can maintain some bit of leverage in selling off an unhappy player. Either way, a world class player in their prime, like Mkhitaryan, should fetch a solid transfer fee. Let's just hope he's being sold to a team outside of Germany.

Is this the end of Mkhitaryan at Dortmund? Is now the time to sell another key member of the squad?