Mario Götze once celebrated his professional debut under Jürgen Klopp, and the two almost got together again in 2016. Today Götze speaks of a wrong decision.
Mario Götze has already played for Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham in his career, and tonight he makes his first appearance for Leicester City in the quarter-finals of the Europa Conference League. Yet he could have become a Premier League professional himself around six years ago.
As his departure from FC Bayern drew closer in 2016, Jürgen Klopp had also remembered him. Götze had become a Bundesliga professional as a 17-year-old under the former BVB coach, who had just begun his era at Liverpool FC at the time. “We are still in contact and talked about me coming to Liverpool at the time,” Götze revealed in an interview with the Daily Mail.
In retrospect, he considers the fact that he returned to Borussia Dortmund instead a wrong decision. “If you ask me now – yes, I should have moved to Liverpool for sure. I just made a wrong decision, but I don’t regret it.”
Götze has not written off the World Cup yet
Klopp has had the “biggest influence” on his career, Götze said. “He can be very demanding. He can be your friend, but at the same time very strict. That pushes you to great achievements. That’s what happened with me back then and that’s what’s happening with Liverpool now. “
Götze, on the other hand, is fighting for – somewhat smaller – titles with PSV Eindhoven and shows undiminished motivation even at the age of 29: “When I look back at my last twelve years, I always enjoyed playing at this level. I’m used to playing in the Champions League and for titles.” He still likes that.
And he hasn’t even written off the World Cup in November. “I have to play well and be fit. If it happens, I’ll be happy, but I won’t force it. The most important thing is to play well and have fun. Then you never know. “
