Mario Götze

Götze is a product of Dortmund's youth academy, first entering the club as an eight-year-old. He made his Bundesliga debut on 21 November 2009 in a scoreless draw against Mainz 05, coming on as a substitute for Jakub Błaszczykowski in the 88th minute. During the winter break of the 2009–10 Bundesliga season, Dortmund manager Jürgen Klopp promoted Götze to the first team. He finished the 2009–10 season with five appearances. Götze took his chance and was an important player in Dortmund's Bundesliga-winning squad of the 2010–11 season. He finished 2010–11 season with eight goals in 41 appearances. In 2010, German Football Association's then technical director Matthias Sammer described Götze as "one of the best talents Germany has ever had."

After ascending through several youth teams, Götze was called up for his first senior match for Germany against Sweden, on 17 November 2010. He made his debut that day, coming on in the 78th minute in a goalless draw, substituting for his Dortmund teammate Kevin Großkreutz and becoming the youngest German international since Uwe Seeler. Götze and André Schürrle, who came on simultaneously, are the first two Germany players to be born in reunified Germany. He made his second appearance for the national team in a friendly match against Italy on 9 February 2011.

In 2010, German Football Association's then-Technical Director Matthias Sammer described Götze as "one of the best talents Germany has ever had." One year later, German football legend Franz Beckenbauer described Götze as "German Messi" for his speed and style of play. However, Götze's pace deteriorated before the peak age of an average professional footballer, and this was seen as one of the reasons for his second departure from Borussia Dortumund.

Götze was born in Memmingen, Bavaria to parents Jürgen and Astrid Götze. His father is a professor at the Dortmund University of Technology. His older brother Fabian is currently a free agent, having left Dortmund's youth system in 2010. Their younger brother, Felix, currently plays for Augsburg.

He played in the 2011 German Super Cup' losing to Schalke 04. In January 2012, Götze was diagnosed with a hip injury; cartilage in Götze's hip had inflamed under stress.

Götze's first goal for Germany was against Brazil on 10 August 2011; at 19 years and 68 days, he became the joint-youngest goalscorer for the German national team in the post-war era along with Klaus Stürmer, who scored on debut against France on 16 October 1954. He was included in the 23-man squad for UEFA Euro 2012 on 28 May 2012. Götze made his tournament debut in a 4–2 victory after coming on as a substitute on 80th minute against Greece.

In 2011, Götze signed a sponsorship kit deal with sportswear and equipment supplier Nike. He appeared in an advert for the Nike Green Speed II alongside Eden Hazard, Theo Walcott, Raheem Sterling, Christian Eriksen and Stephan El Shaarawy in November 2012. In March 2014, Götze was one of the first players to wear Nike Magista boots.

On 27 March 2012, Götze signed a new contract with Borussia Dortmund, keeping him at Dortmund until 2016. His contract, however, contained a release clause from the club, triggered by a fixed transfer fee of at least €37 million. Götze spoke about his contract extension, saying, "Everyone knows how comfortable I feel in Dortmund. The club are far from finished with their recent resurgence. And I want to be part of this development."

In April 2012, Götze made the squad for the first time since his hip injury but was an unused substitute against rivals Schalke 04. He played his first game since his hip injury when he came on as a substitute against Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Götze won the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund in 2012 as Dortmund set a Bundesliga record by earning the most points in a season with 81, a record later broken by Bayern Munich in 2012–13. Götze also won the DFB-Pokal with Dortmund (5–2) against rivals Bayern Munich in 2012. Götze finished the season with seven goals in all competitions.

Götze is capable of playing as either a left or right winger, attacking midfielder and also as a "false 9". Götze was considered to be one of the best young players in the world, possessing speed, technique, dribbling skills and playmaking capabilities. In his first stint at Dortmund, under manager Jürgen Klopp, Götze often played different roles in the team's 4-2-3-1 formation. Following the departure of fellow playmaker Shinji Kagawa in 2012, during the 2012–13 season, Klopp assigned Götze as central attacking midfielder. For Germany, Götze's talent has been used by German coach Joachim Löw in the "false 9" role. In more recent seasons with Dortmund, coach Lucien Favre has also used Götze in this role.

Götze provided an assist and netted a goal in Dortmund's 3–0 second leg defeat of Shakhtar Donetsk on 5 March 2013, completing a 5–2 aggregate victory over the Ukrainian champions as Dortmund progressed to the quarter-finals of the Champions League. The result meant that Dortmund had advanced to the quarter-finals for the first time in 15 years. Götze was ruled out of the final against Bayern Munich at Wembley Stadium, London, as he suffered thigh injury against Real Madrid in the second leg of the semi-final, which his side lost 2–0 but still progressed to the final through an aggregate score of 4–3. His Dortmund side lost the final 2–1 after a late Arjen Robben goal sealed Bayern's victory.

On 23 April 2013, it was announced that Götze was moving on 1 July 2013 to rivals Bayern Munich after the team had triggered Götze's release clause of €37 million. The transfer made Götze the most expensive German player of all time. Mesut Özil eventually broke the record later in the summer, transferring to Arsenal for €50 million. Dortmund coach Jürgen Klopp claimed that the reason behind Götze's transfer to Bayern was the playmaker's wish to play under manager Pep Guardiola, formerly of Barcelona. Klopp admitted his annoyance at the timing of the announcement of Götze's move, as it was barely 36 hours before Dortmund's Champions League semi-final with Real Madrid. Klopp later said that Dortmund had no chance of convincing Götze to stay with Dortmund, as he claimed, "He [Götze] is a Pep Guardiola favourite."

On 11 August 2013, Götze made his Bayern Munich debut, coming on as a substitute for Mitchell Weiser in the 60th minute. Götze netted two goals to help Bayern get a 1–4 win against Hungarian champions Győri ETO in a friendly match. He made his league debut for the club in a Bundesliga home match against 1. FC Nürnberg on 24 August, which Bayern won 2–0. On 19 October, Götze came on as a substitute and made two assists to help Bayern from a one-goal deficit to get a 4–1 win against 1. FSV Mainz 05.

On 23 October, Götze scored his first competitive goal for Bayern in a 5–0 Champions League group stage win over Viktoria Plzeň at the Allianz Arena. He also assisted Bastian Schweinsteiger in the game. On 26 October 2013, Götze came on as a substitute for Toni Kroos in 25th minute and scored his first Bundesliga goal for Bayern Munich with a header in a 3–2 win against Hertha BSC. On 2 November, he made his return to starting line-up in a 1–2 away win for Bayern against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. On 23 November, Götze came off the bench and scored the first goal of a 0–3 away victory over former club Borussia Dortmund. He did not celebrate the goal out of respect to Dortmund. In the team's next fixture against CSKA Moscow, Götze scored the second goal of 3–1 away win in the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League group stage. On 7 December, Götze helped Bayern by netting a goal in the closing minute, as well as assisting Thomas Müller, in a dominant 7–0 away victory over Werder Bremen. On 17 December, Götze scored a long-range goal in the 47th minute against the AFC champion Guangzhou Evergrande, helping Bayern win 3–0 and advance to 2013 FIFA Club World Cup Final, where he came on as an 80th-minute substitute. Bayern won the match 2–0.

On 24 January 2014, Götze started as a "false 9" and scored his first goal in the second half of the season against Borussia Mönchengladbach, an 0–2 Bayern victory. On 25 March, he scored in a 3–1 win over Hertha BSC as Bayern were confirmed as Bundesliga champions. On 3 May 2014, he scored a brace and assisted two in their 1–4 away win against Hamburger SV. On 17 May, he played the full 120 minute match against former club Borussia Dortmund in 2014 DFB-Pokal Final. Bayern won 2–0 in extra time to win their second major title in the season. Götze's debut season with Bayern has yielded a mixture of success and frustration, scoring 15 goals.

After helping Germany win the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Götze began the 2014–15 season on 13 August 2014, coming on as substitute in a 2–0 loss against Borussia Dortmund in 2014 DFL-Supercup. On 17 August, he opened his scoring account in their first 2014–15 DFB-Pokal win against SC Preußen Münster. On 22 August, he started and played for 62 minutes in their 2–1 home season opener victory against Wolfsburg. On 23 September, he scored twice in Bayern's 4–0 home win against SC Paderborn.

Götze contributed four goals in 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying, and was named in Germany's squad for the tournament finals. Götze was named in the starting line-up against Portugal in the team's opening match, winning the penalty kick for Germany's opening goal on his World Cup debut. In the team's second match, he scored the opening goal and was named the Man of the Match in a 2–2 draw with Ghana. Götze played just 14 minutes in the 1–0 win against the United States, half of the Round of 16 win against Algeria and seven minutes in their quarter-final 1–0 win over France. He did not play in Germany's record-breaking 7–1 victory against Brazil in the semi-finals.

Götze appeared as part of a Galaxy XI in an advertisement for South Korean company Samsung alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney, Radamel Falcao and Iker Casillas in a team managed by German football legend Franz Beckenbauer. On 14 August 2014, Konami announced that they had featured Götze on the front cover of Pro Evolution Soccer 2015.

On 18 October, Götze netted another brace in their 6–0 home win against Werder Bremen. On 28 October, FIFA announced that Götze is included in the 23-man shortlist for 2014 FIFA Ballon d'Or. On 22 November, he scored a stylistic long range goal in their 4–0 win against Hoffenheim, later voted Bundesliga goal of the week. On 14 February 2015, Götze scored his third brace of the season and assisted one in their dominating 8–0 win against Hamburger SV.

On 28 April 2015, Götze was one of four Bayern players to miss in a 2–0 penalty shootout defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the DFB-Pokal semi-final. In May 2015, Franz Beckenbauer criticised Götze for poor performances and lack of determination in playing. After a couple of weeks, Götze's teammate Arjen Robben backed him up for all the negative criticism. "You need to make certain experiences as a player," the Netherlands international said. "How you cope with certain situations also makes you strong as a player. Criticism can be good for your development too. You need to fight through the situation." He finished the season with 15 goals in 48 appearances in all competitions.

On 1 August 2015, he started his season by coming on as a substitute in the 84th minute. On 9 August 2015, Götze scored with a goal in Bayern's 1–3 DFB-Pokal win over FC Nöttingen. In the next four games, he struggled to make a significant impact in the squad. On 16 September, Götze, coming on as a substitute in 79th minute, scored the second goal against Olympiacos in the 2015–16 Champions League as his club earned a 0–3 away win. After the game, Bayern coach Pep Guardiola praised Götze for his performance.

On 22 September 2015, Götze assisted the last goal in Bayern's 5–1 win against Wolfsburg. On 29 September, Götze was a threat whole game and he scored a goal against Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb. Bayern earned a 5–0 win. On 4 October, Götze scored and assisted a goal against Borussia Dortmund to help Bayern to a 5–1 victory. He scored six goals in 21 appearances during the 2015–16 season.

On 21 July 2016, Götze confirmed his return to Dortmund, on a four-year contract. He also stated that he regretted his decision to join Bayern Munich three years before. On 11 September 2016, Götze played his official comeback in 1–0 loss against RB Leipzig. Despite the loss, he was praised for his promising return. Three days later, he scored his first goal for Dortmund since his return to his boyhood club, with his previous goal in a competitive game for the club coming in the 6–1 Bundesliga win over Greuther Furth in April 2013. He scored the opener of the historic 6–0 away win against Legia Warszawa in the Champions League group stage.

After a long time of re-adapting to the Dortmund system, Götze managed to find his form when their side faced Bayern Munich on 20 November 2016. Götze assisted the only goal of the game, and earned a 1–0 victory. Almost a month later, he scored his first Bundesliga goal since his return to Dortmund in a 2–2 draw against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. In February 2017, Götze was dropped from the Dortmund team with a mystery illness, identified in media reports as myopathy, a metabolic disease which can cause fatigue and weight gain. The illness was said to explain some of Götze's fitness problems over the previous several seasons with Bayern and on his return to Dortmund. He finished the season with two goals in 16 appearances.

After his absence due to metabolic illness, Götze returned to the field on 14 July 2017 where Dortmund successfully defeated Urawa Reds 3–2 in a friendly match. On 19 August 2017, he made his first start in seven months in a 3–0 away win against VfL Wolfsburg to start their 2017–18 Bundesliga season; he assisted a goal, and played industriously. After the match, Dortmund's coach Peter Bosz hailed Götze's performance, but stated that he needs to be careful with his midfielder in order to gain full recovery. He finished the season with two goals in 32 appearances.

Götze featured at UEFA Euro 2016, appearing in four matches of Germany's semifinalists campaign. In the lead up to the 2018 FIFA World Cup, he played in a friendly against France in November 2017 after a one-year absence from the national team, but ultimately did not make the squad for the final tournament.

Götze has been in a relationship with German lingerie model Ann-Kathrin Brömmel since July 2012. The couple were engaged in 2017 and married in May 2018. They had a son in 2020. Götze is a Christian.

On 9 February 2019, Götze scored his 50th career Bundesliga goal when he netted in a 3–3 draw with Hoffenheim and in doing so extended his record of never having lost a match in which he scored to 43 matches.

On 23 May 2020, Borussia Dortmund sport director Michael Zorc stated that Götze would leave the club at the end of the season. His last appearance for the team was in a 1–0 defeat against Bayern Munich, three days later after his decision to leave. He bid farewell to the club at the Westfalenstadion prior to Dortmund's final match against 1899 Hoffenheim.

On 6 October 2020, Götze joined PSV Eindhoven on a free transfer, signing a two-year deal. Götze scored on his PSV debut, a 3–0 away win at PEC Zwolle on 18 October.