Mario Gotze returns to Borussia Dortmund from Bayern Munich in £18.3m deal
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ByEurosport
Updated 21/07/2016 at 10:53 GMT
Mario Gotze has returned to Borussia Dortmund from Bayern Munich in an £18.3 million deal, three years after his £32m move to the Allianz Arena upset Dortmund fans.
Mario Götze
Image credit: AFP
The transfer was confirmed on Twitter by the official accounts of Bayern and Dortmund on Thursday morning, with the World Cup winner expected to sign a four-year deal.
Gotze told Dortmund's official website he regrets having ever left the club.
"When I switched from BVB to Bayern in 2013 that was a conscious decision behind I will not hide," he said on Dortmund's official website.
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Mario Gotze celebrates his goal with Borussia Dortmund team-mates in the Champions League against Shakhtar Donetsk (AFP)
Image credit: Eurosport
"Three years later, and at the age of 24, I look with different eyes at my decision. I can well understand that many fans could not understand my decision. I would not even make it today.
"When I return to my home, I want to try for all the fans - especially those who do not receive me with open arms - to convince them by my performances. My aim is to recapture my best football.
"For all of us, the club and the BVB fans. "
Gotze, 24, scored 22 goals in 83 outings for Jurgen Klopp's Dortmund helping them win two Bundesliga titles, a German Cup while reaching the Champions League final where they lost 2-1 to Bayern Munich at Wembley Stadium in 2013 which Gotze watched ahead of his move to Bayern that summer.
Dortmund fans were unhappy with Gotze's decision to leave their club. Fan banners at the Westfalenstadion were vitriolic at the time.
And even three years on emotion still runs high: some fans even displayed placards in April suggesting they would not welcome him back to the club, following the first rumours of his return.
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Borussia Dortmund supporters hold banner with an obscene text 'BVB or FCB, true love or We are we' and 'F*** you Goetze' relating to former Borussia Dortmund's player Mario Gotze who joined Bayern Munich
Image credit: Reuters
Borussia sporting director Michael Zorc said: "Mario is a Dortmund, one of the most creative midfielders in Europe and only 24.
"He had multiple switching options and made a conscious decision for sure not easy way to return to his hometown club."
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Jürgen Klopp and Mario Götze at Borussia Dortmund
Image credit: AFP
Bayern coach Carlo Ancelotti and France winger Franck Ribery both wished the attacking midfielder all the best for his move back to Dortmund on Wednesday night.
Bayern Munich and Dortmund had both been locked in talks over the Germany international, who was reported already to have agreed personal terms with the Westphalians, for whom he played up to 2013 before moving to Munich.
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"If he wants to leave, then I only wish him all the best," Ancelotti said after Bayern's 1-0 friendly win over Manchester City.
Ribery also wished Gotze all the best for his move, saying: "He needs to be enjoying his football again and become the player he used to be in Dortmund.
"It was tough for him here, also because of the many injuries he had," added the Frenchman. "I wish him all the best."
Gotze won back-to-back Bundesliga titles with Dortmund before his move to Bayern was announced on the eve of their Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid.
With Bayern, he has won three more Bundesliga titles, but struggled to hold down a regular starting berth making 66 appearances in three seasons under Pep Guardiola.
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