Thomas Meunier has revealed his reasoning for leaving Borussia Dortmund after 3.5 years.
Speaking at a press conference, Meunier said: “Dortmund made it clear to me that the return of my competitor would banish me to the bench again.”
Meunier replaced Julian Ryerson, who was sidelined for two months, meaning that the Belgian started seven games in a row but despite positive performances, the right-back wasn’t rewarded with a permanent squad, and was now behind Ryerson and Marius Wolf.
Meunier added: “If an option came up in the winter, I had to take the chance. Even if I only had a six-month contract left. I think there was a lack of neutrality and competition.”
Because he wasn’t able to break into Dortmund’s first team, Meunier wasn’t nominated for the Belgium squad and with a place at Euro 2024 up for grabs, he felt the need to leave.
“The national team was my only goal, I had to take a risk for that,” added Meunier.
Since his free transfer to Trabzonspor in February, Meunier had played eight games across all competitions and is back in the Belgium squad.