Mario Gotze rumours were inevitable this weekend.
With Germany out of the Euros after their defeat to France, it’s time for the media to talk about the future of certain players who are facing an uncertain future at their respective clubs.
Bayern Munich star Gotze is definitely one of them. The 24-year-old has just one year left on his existing deal, and the Bavarian giants sound keen to offload him.
Prior to the Euros, when Gotze was very strongly linked with Liverpool or a return to Borussia Dortmund, he publicly stated he wanted to stay at Bayern Munich.
Gotze split with his agent, who had become frustrated at the player’s ideas about his future.
Bayern once again made it clear publicly that he wasn’t part of their plans, and the idea was Gotze would use Euro 2016 to secure himself a bigger club than Dortmund or Liverpool, or convince Bayern he should be given a prominent role.
It was ambitious to say the least. Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool had been repeatedly linked and looked to be a good opportunity, as did Dortmund. But the player, having shed his agent, was aiming for the stars.
Gotze split with agent is intriguing
Looking back on the agent split, we covered a SportBild feature at the time and reported:
‘SportBild explain that agent Volker Struth told Gotze he wasn’t prepared to watch as the footballer’s career went down the drain, and Gotze responded by saying he was thinking of a separation anyway.
It’s claimed that Struth himself called the meeting, aware a parting of the ways was perhaps on the cards, but cared little and wasn’t at all bothered by the potential lack of commission. This very much doesn’t sound like a case of Gotze doing all the dumping.
Gotze turned down moves to Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund, say SportBild, because he thinks the clubs would be a backwards step from Bayern Munich. The Bayern player is said to believe that Real Madrid, Barcelona, and ‘possibly even’ Arsenal are the top clubs he should be aiming for.’
It didn’t go to plan at Euro 2016. No goals and no assists told one story, Joachim Low dropping Gotze after the group stages told another. Brought on with just over 20 minutes left against France, he again failed to have an impact.
According to German newspaper Bild, Gotze is certainly leaving Bayern this summer, and has two options at the moment.
A return to Borussia Dortmund or Tottenham. The Premier League side are said to have already made contact. But considering this is such a big claim about a player who is still seen as a major star in Germany, it’s really very brief.
Bild’s total story excluding headlines is:
‘What will become of Mario Götze (24)?
Before Euro 2016 he had declared his intention to remain at Bayern.
Now it looks different.
BILD have learned: Within the national team circle, Gotze chatted about leaving Munich. The only question is in which direction.
Track number 1: BVB! A return to Dortmund is still there, even if the subject is not too hot now.
Track number 2: It’s hotter! There would have been in recent days contacts with Tottenham Hotspur. The London club came third in the league so have Champions League games.’
No mention of Liverpool is perhaps a surprise, but maybe suggests Klopp has moved on.
There’s something not quite right about Gotze’s time at Bayern Munich, with it being clear it’s the club with a dim view of his future there, and not just a Pep Guardiola preference issue.
There’s also something not quite right with how his agent expected a split, and didn’t seem to be too bothered about it. Gotze should be one of the most bankable players in Europe, if his early career is the basis to judge upon, and the agent was happy to walk away and pass up potential commission.
Most times when a footballer’s ego is aiming for a bigger move than they perhaps deserve, an agent would play along with flattery. It seems Struth, very experienced and respected, simply didn’t want to play that game.
Gotze slipping out of prominence for the national too is another blow for the 24 year old, and it’s hard to work out how much genuine interest there is in the player.
The two years since Gotze scored the only goal in the World Cup final have seen his career stall, maybe even reverse.
He’s obviously got bags of natural talent but there may even be a question as to whether Tottenham need him. With Harry Kane upfront and Dele Alli in a freer role behind, and then Erik Lamela and Christian Eriksen also, there’s no big need for Gotze.
Maybe if one of those players left then things could be different, and the Gotze claims will surely prompt at least some reports suggesting that scenario.
