Bartra seeks to justify Dortmund´s trust

Marc Bartra hopes he can live up to Borussia Dortmund’s expectations after joining the Bundesliga club from Barcelona.

The defender was snapped up by BVB earlier this month for a bargain €8million, a lack of appearances having triggered a clause in his contract forcing the Liga champions to accept such a bid.

The 25-year-old will be charged with helping to fill the void left by captain Mats Hummels, who has followed Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski in leaving Signal Iduna Park for Bayern Munich.

And the Spain international knows he will be under pressure to perform at his new home. 

“It’s a really exciting challenge and I’m highly motivated,” Bartra told the club’s website.

“I hope I can justify the trust placed in me by the club.

“From the first day I knew Dortmund wanted to sign me, I felt really honoured. I’m now starting to prepare for [my] first game for BVB and I’m getting to know my team-mates.

“I’m looking forward to the first official match against Bayern Munich and I am glad to play for this great club,” he added, referring to the German Super Cup on August 14.

Bartra has swapped one of world football’s great venues for another in leaving Barca for Dortmund, where the ‘Yellow Wall’ at one end of the ground is among the largest and most atmospheric standing areas in Europe.

“I’ve seen the arena this week and I like it very much, it’s a great stadium,” he said.

“I’m looking forward to seeing it filled with fans. This is something I only know from videos.”