Borussia Dortmund’s star defender, German international Mats Hummels, has expressed his disappointment at the way Mario Gotze upped and left for Bayern Munich.
In a shock move that destabilised Dortmund in the build-up to their painful Champions League final defeat to Bayern, Gotze revealed he would play for the Bavarian giants next season.
Handily, Gotze was injured for the final at Wembley, and so he did not have to test his allegiances between the club that made him into a star, and the club that will make him into an ever richer man.
Hummels says that he and his team-mates were upset not only that Gotze so easily left them in the lurch, but also by his explanation for doing so.
Gotze indicated that he felt his sporting ambitions could be better realised at the Allianz Arena, an assertion Hummels was “annoyed” by.
"Everybody could see how good our team is," Hummels told Sport Bild.
"I just don't think there was or is any reason in sporting terms [for Gotze] to leave us.
"You could see how our team had developed and Mario got on so well with many, which is why it annoyed me so much that he made up his mind that he had to leave so soon.
"It came as a surprise to all of us in the team. I have told him that."