I am not leaving Bayern: Midfielder Gotze

Bayern Munich midfielder Mario Gotze has admitted to having no interest in leaving the German football giants despite reports linking him with a move away during the summer.

The Germany international was rumoured to be of interest to Italian champions Juventus. And he insisted that he wants to remain at Bayern for a long time and become the face of the club.

"I made my own mistakes but I've also had to withstand a lot of things that have been twisted. The last two years were certainly like a ripening process for me," Gotze was quoted as saying by German daily Suddeutsche Zeitung on Wednesday.

"I feel very happy here, I am glad to be a Bayern player. I would love to be the face of Bayern, I've played a big role (for the club) in the first two years and I want to play an even greater part," Gotze said.

"I never dealt with a transfer. It's quite possible that other clubs had interest but I had no interest in leaving Bayern," the 23-year-old added.

The 2014 FIFA World Cup winner also moved to explain the transfer that saw him leave Borussia Dortmund for Bayern in 2013, and regretted not denying his motives for leaving were financial at the time.

"The people probably thought 'He signed for Bayern just because of the money. He's not a good person'," Gotze said.

"Today I know, at the beginning of pre-season training in Munich that I should have explained the transfer. I should have stated my sporting reasons to end all the speculation. It would all have ended if I'd done that but I didn't and left room for interpretation."