Berlin (dpa) – Borussia Dortmund managing director Hans-Joachim Watzke does not want to join speculation on a possible return of Mario Goetze to the club from Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich but doesn’t rule it out either.
«Given the current conditions this is not an issue for us,» Watzke told the Sport Bild paper on their website in a report published on Saturday.
Watzke said that Goetze has a valid contract in Munich «and we have heard neither from him nor the club that the cooperation is to be ended. Therefore it would be disrespectful if I talked about a Bayern Munich player.»
The attacking Germany midfielder Goetze left Dortmund for the Munich in 2014 on a contract until 2017 but has rarely played there lately.
It is also unclear whether the 23-year-old will get more matches when Carlo Ancelotti replaces Pep Guardiola as coach in summer.
Goetze has been linked with a return to Dortmund who have had players come back in the past, such as Shinji Kagawa from Manchester United and Nuri Sahin from Real Madrid – and Watzke did not rule out that Goetze could be the next one.
«The door is open for every player who has rendered great service to the club,» Watzke said. «Apart from one or two exceptions I would not rule out forever that a player would play for us.»