Mario Gotze will leave Borussia Dortmund this summer as his contract expires at the end of the season.
It will be the second time that the 27-year-old leave Dortmund, after he left the club for Bayern back in the summer of 2013, a year before he scored a winning goal in World Cup final 2014.
“We have agreed that we will not continue working together after the season,”
Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc said after his team won 2-0 against Wolfsburg.
“It was a mutual and respectful decision. Mario is a great lad. I believe that he will still be important to us this season.”
The departure seems imminent, since Gotze is only on the bench for the Wolfsburg game.
Even Dortmund coach Lucien Favre admitted he doesn’t really have a place for Gotze in the squad.
“At the moment we are playing with a 3-4-3 formation. And I have made it clear to him that this is not the ideal formation for him. You have to tell the truth there,” Favre said.
Gotze played 20 games in all competitions this season, but he only started five Bundesliga match and started 9 games from the bench.
“Both sides are in a situation that is not necessarily satisfactory,” Zorc said.
“I think it’s normal that he’s looking for a new challenge. He has a lot of credit here, he comes from our own youth system. It was a joint decision. It is also in his interest that he is looking for a new adventure, perhaps abroad. We’ll see.”
Gotze also reportedly turn down a contract renewal as refused to take a substantial pay-cut, and his high wage demands could be difficult in pursuit of finding a new club.