Dortmund's CEO Watzke pens contract extension

Berlin, Feb 14: Borussia Dortmund and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Hans-Joachim Watzke have agreed on a contract extension, the Bundesliga football club announced.

Watzke, who took the reins in 2005, has put pen to paper on a new deal, which binds him to the eighth-time German champions until June 2022, according to an official statement released on Tuesday, reports Xinhua news agency.

"The sporting and economical extremely successful development of Borussia Dortmund since 2005 is inextricably linked to the work of Hans-Joachim Watzke and his managing director Thomas Tress," the club's president Reinhard Rauball said.

Watzke and Rauball joined the club at the climax of Dortmund's financial crisis in 2005. Both, together with chief financial officer Thomas Tress, helped the club to avoid bankruptcy.

The "BVB" sit currently on the third place of the Bundesliga standings. Dortmund went through a couple of ups and downs this season as the titleholders crashed out of the German Cup and UEFA Champions League.

Besides, they lost their top striker Pierre-Emrick Aubameyang after a long back and forth to Arsenal London. As of yet, they have not found an equivalent replacement.