Borussia Dortmund's 10 best signings of the decade (2010-2019)

#3 Shinji Kagawa (2010 & 2014)

Shinji Kagawa was signed by Dortmund twice during the decade

Japan’s Shinji Kagawa was signed by Borussia Dortmund twice during the last decade, and the fact alone that they were able to make a profit of somewhere around £10m from his move to Manchester United would almost qualify him for this list even if he hadn’t been fantastic for them. But of course, the midfielder was fantastic, particularly during his first stint at the club.

Signed for just €350,000 from Cerezo Osaka, Kagawa became an instant fan favourite at the Westfalenstadion in his first season at Dortmund by promising to score a brace in the Revierderby against bitter rivals Schalke 04 – and then pulling the feat off in a 3-1 win. Injuries curtailed the second half of his debut season, but with 8 goals in 18 league games, he did his part in helping Die Schwarzgelben to the Bundesliga title.

In his second season, Kagawa performed even better – scoring 13 goals and providing 8 assists to help Dortmund to a league and cup double. It was these performances that earned him his move to Manchester United for £17m, and after he struggled at Old Trafford, he returned to Dortmund in the summer of 2014 for a cut-price of £6.5m.

The Japanese star would play another 4 seasons at Dortmund – beginning as an ever-present – before falling out of favour once Lucien Favre took over at the club, and he officially moved to Real Zaragoza in 2019.