Dortmund star Goetze heading to arch-foe Bayern

Mario Goetze is set to join Bayern Munich at the end of the season.

Germany star Mario Goetze is joining Bayern Munich after deciding to switch from Bundesliga rival Borussia Dortmund at the end of the season.

Goetze and his agent Volker Struth informed Dortmund a few days ago that the player wished to activate his buy-out clause and join Bayern with effect from July 1, Dortmund announced yesterday.

"Of course we're disappointed beyond measure, but stress that both Mario and his agent behaved absolutely correctly with regard to the contract," Dortmund Chief Executive Hans-Joachim Watzke said.

Bayern confirmed on Twitter that Goetze will join on July 1.

Dortmund, the Bundesliga champion in the previous two seasons, said it was concentrating on today's Champions League semifinal first leg against Real Madrid, and asked fans to continue to support the player until the end of the season.

Goetze's Facebook page was already a target for abusive messages from irate fans.

While the announcement could not come at a worse point in time for Dortmund, it deflects attention from revelations over the weekend that Bayern President Uli Hoeness is the target of a tax evasion investigation.

Dortmund's statement came after Bild reported Bayern would pay the 20-year-old Goetze's buy-out clause of around 37 million euros (US$48 million) to sign him.

Bayern has already signed Pep Guardiola as coach for next season and plays the Spaniard's former club Barcelona in its Champions League semifinal first leg later yesterday.

Goetze was born in Memmingen, around 120 kilometers south of Munich, and joined Dortmund as a seven-year-old.

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