Borussia Dortmund: Barcelona can't get Marc Bartra back

Borussia Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke insists Barcelona have not retained a buy-back option on Marc Bartra.

The Spain international left Camp Nou for Signal Iduna Park on Friday, BVB having activated an €8 million release clause in the defender's contract.

It would have cost prospective buyers €40m to prise the academy product away from Barca, but his price tag dropped substantially after he failed to play a minimum number of games stipulated in his contract.

The failure of Barca to meet those conditions also meant the Liga champions were unable to retain a buy-back option when the 25-year-old left, something confirmed by the BVB CEO.

"There is no option to repurchase," Watzke was quoted as saying by Kicker.

Bartra must attempt to fill a major void at Dortmund next term, with the club set to lose captain Mats Hummels to Bayern Munich in the off-season.

Watzke, though, hopes the new arrival will not suffer in comparison to the Germany centre-back early in his Bundesliga career.

"We believe that he is a highly talented player, [but] we must not overburden Marc with [our] expectations," he said.