Football
Stephan Uersfeld, Germany correspondent 8y

Bayern Munich urge Mario Gotze to leave amid Liverpool speculation

Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has expressed surprise at Mario Gotze's decision to stay at the club and urged the Germany international to reconsider his plans.

Gotze, 23, is about to enter the final 12 months of his contract with Bayern and it was widely expected that he would leave the club this summer, with Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund potential destinations.

The attacking midfielder endured a disappointing three-year spell under Pep Guardiola at Bayern, and it appeared there was no way back after a phone call with incoming coach Carlo Ancelotti was made public earlier this month.

It was reported that the Italian told the forward that his future will not be at Bayern, but Gotze played down those claims and then told Bild that he wanted to stay in Munich to try to force his way into the new coach's plans.

Speaking to kicker on Thursday, Rummenigge has urged Gotze to reconsider his stance.

"We made everything clear to Mario," he said. "He knows what the club thinks and he knows what the future coach thinks."

Rummenigge indicated that Gotze will see little playing time if he decides to see out his contract.

He said: "Mario has to consider for himself whether he wants to constantly get minutes."

On Monday, Gotze had also switched agents and is now represented by his family as well as Munich-based agent Prof. Dr. Peter Duvinage.

According to kicker, the switch of agents also saw Gotze's imminent transfer to Liverpool collapse. The report said a €25 million move had been agreed by his former representatives Sports Total, and would have bumped up his wages to €12m a year.

Germany boss Joachim Low and team manager Oliver Bierhoff this week welcomed Gotze's decision, with the latter saying it will allow the player to focus on Euro 2016, and Rummenigge said that may be the reason for the announcement.

"I talked to him, also Ancelotti. Mario knows Bayern's thoughts," he said. "Maybe he just wants to go into the European Championships without any speculation."

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