Mario Götze joins Borussia Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund have just confirmed the long-anticipated return of Mario Götze, for an as of yet undisclosed fee. The report is 26 Million Euros and he has been signed to a four year contract.

Here's a quick summary I'm pretty sure everyone already knew:

Mario is a 24 year old German international currently no longer at Bayern Munich. He is an attacking midfielder and winger, and has also played the false-nine/striker role.

He was a youth prospect at Borussia Dortmund, and promoted to the main team in 2010. He was part of Klopp's brilliant lineup that won the Bundesliga in 2010/11 and the domestic double in 2011/12. He was the nineteen year old wonderkid, and considered to be the best German youth talent at that time. Everyone expected great things from him.

Photo by Paul Gilham/Getty Images

And then, in a move that shocked Borussia Dortmund fans, he announced his transfer to Bayern Munich in 2013. The Dortmund management had not been anticipating this - Bayern Munich activated his 37 million Euro release clause. To add insult to injury, his transfer was leaked the day before Borussia Dortmund faced Bayern Munich in the 2013 Champions League final (a match that Mario was unable to play because of injury).

Since his move, his career has taken a nosedive. He has spent a large part of his time battling injuries, and Bayern Munich ex-manager Pep Guardiola preferred to start other players over him. His adductor injury in particular left him unable to play a large part of last season. While Mario initially expressed his desire to stay at Bayern for another year and work with the new manager Carlo Ancelotti, Bayern management felt like he should try his luck elsewhere.

Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images

Mario is the third ex-Dortmund player to return in as many years, after Nuri Sahin and Shinji Kagawa. While many people are not keen on this transfer, I feel like it sends a good message: the club will always welcome back old players, whatever circumstances they might have left on.

Welcome back, Mario! And good luck! Let's try to get you back to your pre-2013 levels of brilliance!