Having seen his loan cut short by Chelsea, young defender Aaron Anselmino was left in tears as he said goodbye to his Borussia Dortmund teammates. The 20-year-old had planned on spending the season in Germany, but has been recalled back to London early, in a move which appears to have caught many by surprise.
Anselmino signed for the Premier League club on a seven-year contract, for a reported fee of £15.6 million in August 2024. He was actually supposed to then spend the following season on loan with selling team Boca Juniors, but was then recalled in January. Even so, he didn’t play for the Blues until the following summer, making his debut at the 2025 Club World Cup in June against Benfica, coming on for a few late minutes in the round of 16 clash.
Having now seen his second 12-month loan spell cut short early, Anselmino couldn’t hide his emotions as he said goodbye to Borussia Dortmund.
Anselmino’s Teary Goodbye to Borussia Dortmund
The Bundesliga club shared a video entitled ‘an emotional farewell’ on their social media pages, as Anselmino could be seen in tears, hugging his soon-to-be former teammates. Having played 10 times for Dortmund, picking up a goal and an assist, the centre-back clearly made a good impression in Germany.
In the video, he is given a hearty round of applause and receives well-wishes from a number of Dortmund stars, before posing for a farewell team photo. Anselmino then penned a goodbye statement, saying:
“It was an incredible 6 months, thank you so much for the love you gave me from day one, I wish you all the best!! Heja BVB.”
Former Wolves striker Fabio Silva, with whom Anselmino seems to have been close, replied: “Thanks for all the shared moments dear brother!! I wish you good luck, I’m going to miss you a lot, but I’ll stay with all the experiences and your friendship. Thanks for everything!! I love you so much.”
Dortmund Chiefs ‘Furious’ With Chelsea
According to reports from German outlet Bild, via Daily Mail, Dortmund chiefs have been left both ‘astonished’ and ‘furious’ after Chelsea decided to end the loan short in what has been dubbed January’s most ‘unusual’ transfer. There was, however, a break clause in the loan, which meant the Blues were well within their rights to do so. That won’t be of much consolation to the Bundesliga giants, who feel they have been disadvantaged for several reasons.
Firstly, they are said ot have been angered by the lack of communication and notice from Chelsea, with the Blues giving ‘no indication’ beforehand of their intent to recall the defender. Secondly, they have just a week to sort a replacement, as the January transfer window closes on 2 February. Finally, despite no clause in the original agreement to do so, Dortmund were hopeful of signing Anselmino permanently.
Liam Rosenior’s predecessor, Enzo Maresca, complained about a lack of centre-back depth earlier this season before he left the club, but it remains to be seen if Anselmino will be given any regular minutes at Stamford Bridge across the rest of the season.