Wonder why the same article Bild article interpreted on Skysports and even goal.com mention nothing about Arsenal?

The most important thing is that his agent actually has said those things. We'll certainly be interested now.

I can't see Gotze leaving.

Quincy Abeyie wrote:

The most important thing is that his agent actually has said those things. We'll certainly be interested now.

Unfortunately nothing resembles wanting a move. Probably more to do with a contract extension given it's time for one sooner or later as he'll have 12 months on his deal next summer.

They won't give up on him yet. He's too similar to Wilshere to really merit a buy either.

I would say he's quite different actually. Scores a lot lot more, better dribbler, better crosser. Quite a different player. Wilshere's game obviously more based on passing. Gotze just went to a club where a position for him didn't exist and in a successful system.

innervisionscm wrote:

They won't give up on him yet. He's too similar to Wilshere to really merit a buy either.

Nah. Gotze is actually good at football in real life and not just in people's hopes and dreams.

Can someone who follows Dortmund/Bayern or Bundesliga in general more closely, tell me, if my impression of him is correct. He is a bit of a prick as a person, right?

jonesy is going to say yes, but he hates everything about Bayern with a passion.

I don't think he's a prick at all, but he's different from your average middle class footballer. He's sharp and educated, and those types don't always mix well with the rest of the team. He comes from an academic family where school was important. I think I've read that he did some form of apprenticeship at Dortmund's offices as part of his business degree.

I remember that about Götze growing up as well. His parents are/were diplomats or something?

Klaus wrote:

jonesy is going to say yes, but he hates everything about Bayern with a passion.

While the latter is certainly true, I had a dislike for Götze even before he moved to Bayern. Couldn't tell exactly why initially, but he showed his true colours since.

Similar situation to van Persie, probably even worse. Made a meal out of his extension at Dortmund, saying repeatedly in the press how Dortmund is the only club for him and then made the move to Bayern a few days later via release clause, his camp also leaked the info to the press not too long before their CL final. Generally seems only out for himself, he repeatedly wore Nike shirts to official Bayern and Germany (who are both sponsored by Adidas) events, even for his own presser when he signed:

His explanation was "I just wore what I found lying on my bed" Same happened a few weeks later when he was playing for Germany. Shit like this is why I don't want him anywhere near Arsenal, despite his obvious talent.

jones wrote:

Similar situation to van Persie, probably even worse. Made a meal out of his extension at Dortmund, saying repeatedly in the press how Dortmund is the only club for him and then made the move to Bayern a few days later via release clause, his camp also leaked the info to the press not too long before their CL final.

But it was Bayern who activated the clause and made sure everyone knew about it. Dortmund only have themselves to blame for putting it in there to begin with. This is a guy who slept on Bayern Munich sheets when he was growing up. What did they think was going to happen once Bayern came calling and warned him that if he didn't move now it would never happen?

That's very short sighted. They put the clause in there because Götze and his advisers demanded it not because they wanted to, otherwise he wouldn't have extended at all. Bayern couldn't have activated it if Götze wasn't responsive either, despite his assuring that he's "Dortmund through and through" - I have little time for Dortmund but that's a bitch move if I've ever seen one. His Bayern sheets mean little compared to the twelve years he spent at Dortmund in my opinion.

There's also a very pragmatic reason that we shouldn't (and won't) sign him - he's ruined salary wise, already on significantly more than Özil for example, even with the weak Euro at the moment.

If there's a way to make it happen then surely you don't miss the chance? He's about as good as footballers come.

Wenger would turn him into a terrifying footballer within a couple of seasons and he's already extremely good.

jones wrote:

That's very short sighted. They put the clause in there because Götze and his advisers demanded it not because they wanted to, otherwise he wouldn't have extended at all. Bayern couldn't have activated it if Götze wasn't responsive either, despite his assuring that he's "Dortmund through and through"

Oh, come on. It's a contract negotiation. Players want stuff all the time; it doesn't mean it's going to happen. Are you telling me they couldn't have made a 20 year old Götze sign a contract without a €37 million release clause? The way I remember it was that they agreed to the clause in exchange for lesser wage demands, but I can't seem to find a link through Google to back it up right now. They were well aware that he wasn't going to stay for very long. They just hoped that Barca or Real would get in there before Bayern did.

Sure it was a dick move to go to Bayern, especially at that specific time, but Dortmund can't act all high and mighty about it. And Götze's never hidden the fact that he was a Bayern fan either. The point about his wages is a good one though. I had no idea he was on €12 million per year. What the hell were Bayern thinking? Are they fucking insane?

Of course no club wants release clauses in players' contracts. A club does what it has to in order to get the player to sign. Götze clearly never planned to stay at Dortmund all that much longer.

I'd still easily take Götze, if we fail signing Reus of course.
Like Özil and Alexis, he has been at one of the European greats, and that would perhaps make him less inclined to leave down the line.

If you found that source I'd appreciate it, I can't for the life of me imagine a club putting in a release clause in exchange for lower wages. I'm pretty sure he was Dortmund's top earner anyway after he signed his extension, he received another nice wage rise at Bayern. He's Bayern's joint top earner with Ribery according to most reports in the media, seems quite believable this time too as it was also cited a lot of times as the reason Kroos left for Real.

I'm not saying Dortmund are not at fault at all by the way, maybe they could have done better. But to cite Götze being a Bayern fan when he signed at Dortmund aged nine isn't a strong argument for me, that's the same age Hammers fan Wilshere signed for us.