DORTMUND, Germany -- Borussia Dortmund midfielder Nuri Sahin wishes Ousmane Dembele all the best at Barcelona, despite the way the France international left the Bundesliga club.
Sahin, 28, was the man of the match in Dortmund's 2-0 home victory over Hertha Berlin on Saturday, contributing a goal and an assist. After the match, he talked to reporters about Dembele's imminent transfer.
"I wish him all the best," he said. "He knows that he made a mistake. It probably also would have worked out another way."
Dortmund suspended Dembele indefinitely earlier this month after he missed training amid interest from the La Liga giants, insisting that he would only be allowed to leave if Barcelona met their demands.
"He is a fantastic footballer and I can understand that he wanted to move to Barcelona," Sahin said.
"I also made a move to Madrid in the past. I will tune in, when he plays football. It's just a pity that it worked out in this manner."
Asked if Dortmund have to be worried after losing Dembele while three key players in Mats Hummels, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Ilkay Gundogan moved away in 2016, he replied: "We are not Barcelona. We talked about it recently [within the team]. When Barcelona lose Neymar, we can't hide from this.
"It's simply that way in world football that good players will be bought, and that there is always another step up the ladder. [Dortmund] also buy players. The carousel will keep on spinning.
"Borussia Dortmund will always be there. We play good football at the moment, we're having fun. [Maximilian Philipp] plays really well and Christian [Pulisic] does his part well, too. I don't even have to mention [Pierre-Emerick] Aubameyang. The quality is there."
The Turkey international set up Aubameyang in the 15th minute of Saturday's match, before scoring with his weaker foot from the outside of the box in the second half.
"It's a nice feeling to finally appear on the score sheet after two and a half years. My last goal has been too long ago," Sahin said, while conceding that he had lacked confidence in his past campaign.
"Every footballer lives on confidence and trust. It's not a criticism [towards Thomas Tuchel], but I have the trust of the coach and I'm trying to show that on the pitch.
"The new role also suits me. I'm feeling very comfortable in this system."
Sahin, who had only made 30 appearances across all competitions for Dortmund in his past three seasons due to several injuries, has been a linchpin in midfield in his team's bright Bundesliga start.
Peter Bosz, meanwhile, was not entirely happy with BVB's performance against Hertha Berlin. He told his news conference after the game: "The result is good, but I'm not completely satisfied with the way we played -- especially in possession.
"We played against an opponent that tried to make spaces really tight. We have to play the ball quicker and need quicker lateral transitions.
"We didn't do that well enough, which is why it was easy for Hertha to get back into their formation. Especially at home, more opponents will play like this way.
"We're not where we want to be yet, especially in possession. When we lose the ball, you can see that we're trying to win it back quickly. That already works well at times, but we have to get better.
"If we have too many easy giveaways, then we have to exert pressure more often. If we keep the ball better, we have more energy to play football. I'm not entirely satisfied yet, but usually, that will improve with each passing week."
After Saturday's games on matchday two in the Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund sit atop of the table with two wins, five goals scored and none conceded. They will face SC Freiburg next after the international break.