Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke says he flirted with pulling the club out of the Champions League after Tuesday's team bus attack before resolving not to give in to the bombers.

"I briefly asked myself if we shouldn't withdraw completely from the competition, but that would have been a victory for those responsible for the attack," he told Saturday's Der Spiegel magazine.

The Bundesliga club eventually played their quarterfinal first leg tie against Monaco 24 hours later on Wednesday.

Dortmund succumbed 3-2 to Monaco, leaving them with an uphill struggle to qualify for the semifinals in the return leg in Monte Carlo next week.

Watzke revealed that he had left each player with the choice of whether to play or not.