Pro Evolution Soccer no longer holds the rights to include Borussia Dortmund in its 2019 instalment.

The German giants were featured on promotional materials for PES 2019 but will not appear in the game as the club terminated the licensing agreement "prematurely".

"Borussia Dortmund was included in some of the promotional assets of Pro Evolution Soccer 2019," said PES publisher Konami in a statement on its website. "Please note, however, that it can unfortunately not be included in the product."

The licensing deal was scheduled to expire in 2020, but it is unclear why Dortmund chose to dissolve it early.

Unlike rival franchise FIFA, PES does not hold a licence for many of Europe's top leagues, although the latest instalments did secure the rights for individual clubs such as Liverpool and Dortmund.

Written by
Mark Langshaw