Goetze’s Bayern pledge dampens transfer rumours

Mario Goetze says he is looking forward to next season at Bayern Munich, dampening speculation of a move back to Borussia Dortmund, or Liverpool to work again with Jurgen Klopp.

“I am looking forward to the new season in Munich and will do everything possible to be in top shape for my first training session with Carlo Ancelotti,” Goetze told German daily Bild.

After a season spent either injured or largely on the bench under Pep Guardiola at Bayern, speculation had been rife that Germany’s World Cup winner was set either to join up with ex-coach Klopp at Liverpool or return to former club Dortmund.

The rumours were fuelled by a report in Munich-based newspaper the Sueddeutsche Zeitung that Goetze had been told by Ancelotti, Guardiola’s replacement as Bayern’s head coach next season, to find a new club.

On Monday, Goetze split with his agent, Volker Struth at SportsTotal, an agency which looks after 70 top players in Germany, ‘by mutual agreement’ after six years together.

The player’s affairs will now be put “in the hands of my family”, said the Germany star.

Goetze will join up with the Germany squad later this week in their pre-Euro 2016 training camp in Ascona, Switzerland.

The world champions play the first of two friendlies on Sunday, against Slovakia in Augsburg, then Hungary on Saturday June 4 in Gelsenkirchen, before their first Group C game against Ukraine on June 12 at Euro 2016 in France.

“Now I will focus myself for the first time solely on the European championships,” Goetze wrote on his Facebook page having missed Bayern’s German Cup final win last Saturday with a rib injury.

“There’s a title there which we (Germany) haven’t won yet!”