A year after scoring the winning goal for Germany in the 2014 World Cup final, Mario Götze's future at Bayern Munich is more unclear than ever. The club might have won consecutive league titles, but Götze has not played a prominent role and his relationship with head coach Pep Guardiola appears to be weakening.

"I played a pretty good game today. Now we will see what will happen," he told reporters afterwards. "It is clear that the last two years were not that easy," said the 23-year-old, who joined from rivals Borussia Dortmund in a shock transfer in 2013.

On Monday, Guardiola was asked about Götze and the Spaniard hailed him as one of his favorite players. He did however add: "I can't spend every press conference talking about my decisions. The players must impress me on the pitch, every week, every player. They have to fight."

Man or mouse?

Instead of spearheading Bayern's attacking midfield, Götze has languished on the Bayern bench under coach Pep Guardiola, unable to find consistency or playing time. The Spaniard used Götze for just six minutes in their German Super Cup defeat to VfL Wolfsburg last week and last season, he played the full 90 minutes in just 16 of their 34 league games.

"We will see what happens. We will see if he [Pep Guardiola] will speak to me more often," said Götze. "Now I will just let things come to me. In terms of everything else, we will have to see."

Bayern's honorary president Franz Beckenbauer has demanded more from Götze, asking him to grow up and become more of a man. Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge recently said if he were Götze's agent he would advise him to "stay at Bayern and step on the gas."

Götze has a contract with Bayern until 2017, but even before the arrival of Douglas Costa and Arturo Vidal this summer, competition for places was tough. What happens in the coming season will likely decide Götze's future.

jh/ (Reuters, SID)