Real and Barca put on Gotze alert

Posted Tuesday, December 27, 2011 by ESPN

Borussia Dortmund star Mario Gotze has given the club's fans little Christmas cheer by declaring his dream is to play in Spain's La Liga.

Gotze was an influential figure in Dortmund's run to the Bundesliga title last season and has played a pivotal role in keeping the champions in the hunt to retain their title this campaign.

The 19-year-old midfielder is the hottest name in German football at the moment and he can count top sides like Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United as clubs interested in securing his services.

However, Gotze has put Real and Barca on red alert ahead of the winter transfer window by stating his desire to play in La Liga over the Premier League.

"The dream of everyone is playing in Spain, Madrid or Barcelona," Gotze said in an interview with the newspaper Bild.

"I prefer to play in Spain than in the Premiership, Spanish football is more like my qualities. The dream of every footballer is to play in Spain, there There is very great teams like Madrid or Barcelona."

It remains to be seen whether this latest development will prompt either Real or Barca to make a bid for the player in the winter transfer window.

Gotze recently suffered a muscular injury against Kaiserslautern and has been ruled out until January.

Dortmund are also facing up to the prospect of losing star striker Lucas Barrios if he decides to seek a transfer in January.

The Paraguay international was the club's top goalscorer in each of the last two seasons but has failed to nail down a regular place in the Dortmund first team after picking up an injury at the Copa America last summer.

Barrios has already expressed his unhappiness at the current situation.