Mario Gotze will leave Borussia Dortmund

Mario Götze will leave Borussia Dortmund at the end of the season, the club announced on Saturday. He’s been linked with an array of clubs but at 27, the World Cup winner’s career is at a crossroads.

Mario Götze’s career has had quite a few ups and downs: a teenage sensation at Jürgen Klopp’s Dortmund, the disappointment of missing a Champions League final through injury, a big-money move to Bayern Munich, the winning goal in the 2014 World Cup final, his departure from Bayern Munich, and then a metabolic disorder which threatened his entire career.

Nearly four years on from his return to Dortmund, player and club have agreed to part ways at the end of the current campaign, according to sporting director Michael Zorc.

“We’ll end our working relationship with Mario at the end of the season,” Zorc said. “It is a joint decision after a transparent conversation. Mario is a really good guy.”

Götze was one of Lucien Favre’s key players last season when they made a tilt for the title, and at 27, there is reason to believe he still has a lot to offer. Here’s a look at the clubs who have been linked with the German playmaker, who will be available on a free from the start of July.

There is talk that Klopp would still welcome his compatriot to Anfield, but a lot has changed in the intervening years, not least Liverpool becoming the most formidable club team in Europe, which begs several questions: do Liverpool really need him? Would Götze’s fitness and injury concerns make him a bad fit for the physical intensity Klopp demands from his players? And can Götze offer enough to be more than just a substitute at Anfield? There are more questions than answers on this one.