Munich: Germany midfielder Mario Goetze’s return to Borussia Dortmund appears more likely after talks with Bayern Munich now has come down to his transfer fee, while Bayern’s Dutch winger Arjen Robben is likely to miss the start of the season with a groin injury.
German media reports yesterday said Bayern were seeking around 28mn euros (30.9mn dollars) for Goetze, who moved to Munich from Dortmund in 2013 for 37mn, then the most expensive transfer within the Bundesliga.
Rummenigge has confirmed that the club were in talks with both Dortmund and Goetze’s agent on a transfer of the 24-year-old, who has another year on his contract in Munich. Speaking at a friendly in Lippstadt on Saturday, Rummenigge said: “There is a price which is known. When it is fulfilled we will be ready to complete this transfer. It is a three-way business. We have to have a little bit more patience.”
Goetze did not play in Bayern’s first match under new coach Carlo Ancelotti, who was without the internationals who took part at Euro 2016 in France.
In interviews after the game, Rummenigge said Goetze was “a wonderful footballer but unfortunately it has not worked out at Bayern so far.”
Goetze needs to play regularly and a return to his former club was “a good option” and also “not bad for Dortmund,” he added. Goetze has also in the past been linked with a move to Liverpool and his former Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp, and more recently by some British media reports to fellow Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur.
Robben, meanwhile, is expected to be out for six weeks after suffering a groin injury in Saturday’s friendly. Robben came off in the 35th minute of the 4-3 win over fifth-tier Lippstadt after pulling up following a sprint. “The injury to the player’s right leg was diagnosed after an examination conducted by the club’s medical unit in Munich on Sunday,” the club said in a statement. “Robben will be sidelined for approximately six weeks.”
Robben was restricted to 15 Bundesliga appearances last season due to a similar injury. He missed the last two months of the campaign but prior to Saturday’s fixture against Lippstadt he said he felt his injury agony was now behind him.
He is now likely to miss Bayern’s German Supercup fixture with Borussia Dortmund, their opening DFB-Pokal game at Jena and first Bundesliga match of the season against Werder Bremen on 26 August.