The 20-year-old Götze has 22 caps and five goals for the German national team.(Photo: Patrik Stollarz, AFP/Getty Images)
BERLIN (AP) — Germany star Mario Götze is joining Bayern Munich after deciding to switch from Bundesliga rival Borussia Dortmund at the end of the season.
Götze and his agent Volker Struth informed Dortmund a few days ago that the player wished to activate his buy-out clause and join Bayern with effect from July 1, Dortmund announced on Tuesday.
“Of course we’re disappointed beyond measure, but stress that both Mario and his agent behaved absolutely correctly with regard to the contract,” Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke said.
Bayern confirmed on Twitter that Götze will join the club on July 1.
Dortmund, the Bundesliga champion in the previous two seasons, said on its website that it hadn’t yet heard from officials at Bayern, the newly crowned champion.
The club said it was concentrating on Wednesday’s Champions League semifinal first leg against Real Madrid, and asked fans to continue to support the player like they would any other to the end of the season.
Götze’s Facebook page was already a target for abusive messages from disappointed fans.
While the announcement could not come at a worse point in time for Dortmund, it deflects attention from revelations over the weekend that Bayern president Uli Hoeness is the target of a tax evasion investigation.
Dortmund’s statement came after Bild reported Bayern would pay the 20-year-old Götze’s buy-out clause of around 37 million euros ($48 million) to sign him. Kicker reported a buy-out clause of 38 million euros ($50 million).
The transfer could eclipse the previous Bundesliga record of 30 million euros Bayern reportedly paid Stuttgart for Mario Gomez in 2009.
Bayern has already signed Pep Guardiola as coach for next season and plays the Spaniard’s former club Barcelona in its Champions League semifinal first leg on Tuesday.
Götze was born in Memmingen, around 120 kilometers south of Munich, and moved to Dortmund as a seven-year-old because of his father’s work.
He made his Bundesliga debut aged 17 in November 2009 and became a regular over the following season, contributing six goals and assisting 15 more in 33 games as Dortmund claimed the Bundesliga title.
Götze missed several months of the following season as Dortmund successfully defended the title, and still impressed in his limited opportunities.
This season he has chipped in 10 goals and 12 assists in 28 Bundesliga games, as well as scoring two and setting up six in nine Champions League games.
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