The Germany international is widely expected to leave Signal-Iduna Park, and getting a new representative seems to increase that possibility
Borussia Dortmund midfielder and 2014 World Cup winner Mario Gotze has switched agents as he appears prepared to leave the Bundesliga club.
The Germany international will now be represented by Reza Fazeli, and his International Soccer Management agency.
Gotze, whose contract with Dortmund expires this summer, confirmed the news in a statement on Thursday.
He had previously been represented by his father Jurgen, but has cut the family tie as he considers his next career move.
He said: “After intensive considerations, I decided to reposition in the planning of my career. I deliberately took the time necessary for this step because it is an important course for me in the future, and because I want to separate professional and private.
“I’m really looking forward to working with Reza Fazeli and his agency International Soccer Management, whose professional competence has convinced me.”
It was Jurgen Gotze who negotiated Mario’s return to Dortmund in the summer of 2016, in a £20 million ($25m) move from Bayern Munich having gone the other way three years earlier.
However he has now switched to Fazeli, who also represents a number of Gotze’s current Dortmund team-mates including Emre Can, Mahmoud Dahoud and Marwin Hitz, as well as former Borussia player Nuri Sahin, now with Werder Bremen.
The 27-year-old has been heavily linked with Roma when his deal with Dortmund expires in the summer.
It will end Gotze’s latest association with Dortmund, having broken into the first team in 2010 after coming through the youth ranks and reserves, before making a £33m ($41m) switch to Bayern in the summer of 2013.
He was a key figure in Dortmund winning the Bundesliga titles under the management of Jurgen Klopp in 2011 and 2012, and he also won the DFB-Pokal in 2017 during his second spell with the club.
Gotze has won 63 international caps, scoring 17 goals – by far the most famous being his extra time strike against Argentina to win Germany the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
However his career has been disrupted by injury, and this season he played just 596 minutes of football across 19 games for Dortmund in all competitions, many as a substitute – necessitating a fresh start somewhere new.
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