Why There Is No Way Back to Borussia Dortmund for Mario Gotze from Bayern Munich

Although we may yet be a month or so from the end of the current football season and the onset of the summer transfer window, a few odd and somewhat bizarre transfer rumours have already begun to pop up around Europe. 

Yet none has raised as many eyebrows and caused as many drinks to be spat out as the suggestions that Bayern Munich player Mario Gotze could well be making a bizarre return to Borussia Dortmund this summer. 

"That's totally unrealistic," said Borussia CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke to German publication Der Westen, later reported by ESPN's Stephan Uersfeld on May 11.

"Just look at Bayern's wage structure and at Dortmund's—one look—and you'll have the answer."

However, it isn't just simple wages or piles of cash that would keep Gote from a return to the Westfalenstadion this summer or indeed any summer for the remainder of his career. 

To put it simply: Dortmund fans would never really welcome Gotze back to their club. In their eyes the young prodigy chose money over loyalty and left a real football club for one that only hunts down success and silverware by the tonne. 

On his first return to Dortmund after leaving the club back in May of 2013, the BvB ultras unravelled a huge sign stating “The pursuit of money shows how much heart you really have. P--s off, Gotze!” Making their intentions perfectly clear to the young player. And little of that anger or resentment has left since then. 

If Dortmund even attempted to make a bid for the out-of-form Bayern player, there would be demonstrations and picket lines outside Dortmund's stadium. It would compromise everything the club stood for and would undoubtedly lead to more problems for the likes of Watzke and sporting director Michael Zorc.

Frank Augstein/Associated Press

Another reason to consider Gotze to Dortmund as a no-go area is, of course, the very simple fact that the attacking midfielder would probably struggle to get back into the side. 

Since the German international left the Westfalenstadion, Klopp has completely reinvented the Black and Yellow attacking line with a whole host of new faces that would now consider Gotze's old position their own. 

Shinji Kagawa—who, of course, played a large part in Gotze's breakthrough season in Dortmund by moving through to Manchester United and allowing the young player more game time—has been far from his best this season but has slowly but surely begun to make that No. 10 role his own. 

Similarly, Henrikh Mkhitaryan—who was brought in to replace Gotze—has endured a similarly turbulent run of form for Dortmund this season but is undoubtedly the man Klopp, and now Thomas Tuchel, will call on to lead the line from the right-hand side next season. 

Regardless of whether Ilkay Gundogan leaves this summer, there's a very good chance that the front three behind next season's lone striker will be the two aforementioned attacking midfielders alongside the man who has truly replaced Gotze at Dortmund: Marco Reus. 

Since the now-Bayern player left for Munich, Reus has emerged as the future and sole hope of Dortmund fans, and having just signed a new contract extension will now undoubtedly continue to be the most important player at the Bundesliga side for some time to come. 

This is another potential bump in the road that Dortmund wouldn't need. If Gotze did come back under Tuchel and had returned to his pre-Bayern form there would potentially then be a battle on the new manager's hands to confirm just which of these two stars was the side's priority in attack. 

In the end Gotze would not only prove too expensive for Dortmund but also far too much of a risk to alienating the fans and the side's star players. A player who opted to leave the club for pastures new and would be welcome at every other side in Germany before they rolled out the red carpet for him at the Westfalenstadion. 

Follow @sbienkowski