Leon Goretzka

He returned from the injury on Matchday 24 against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.

Goretzka played in only 10 Bundesliga matches during the season.

Schalke had a disappointing season and finished in sixth place in the Bundesliga.

He continued and played almost the entire match until he was substituted in the 84th minute.

Leon Christoph Goretzka (born 6 February 1995) is a German professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Bayern Munich and the Germany national team.

In 1999, Goretzka started his career with Werner SV 06 Bochum.

He stayed for two years with the WSV before making the move to VfL Bochum in 2001.

Schalke finished in a disappointing 10th place in the Bundesliga and did not qualify for European places.

Starting off his career with VfL Bochum in 2012, he went on play more than 100 Bundesliga games for Schalke 04 before signing with Bayern Munich in 2018.

On 30 July 2012, Goretzka was awarded the 2012 under-17 Fritz Walter Medal in gold.

On 4 August 2012, he made his professional debut for Bochum in the 2. Bundesliga against Dynamo Dresden in the rewirpowerSTADION.

Goretzka had an impressive 2012–13 season at Bochum and was their standout performer as Bochum narrowly avoided relegation from the 2.

Bundesliga.

During the season, Goretzka was linked to several big clubs around Europe including Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Arsenal and Real Madrid.

Matthias Sammer, the then sporting director of Bayern Munich, reportedly met with Goretzka to try to convince him of joining Bayern in the summer of 2013.

On 30 June 2013, Schalke 04 confirmed the transfer of Goretzka from Bochum.

During the 2013–14 season, Goretzka had a promising first season, scoring five goals in 32 appearances in all competitions.

He became a regular starter in the second half of the season and helped Schalke finish in third place in the Bundesliga behind champions Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.

This was his first season without European football since his arrival at Schalke in 2013.

He had problems with stress reaction in bones in his lower leg, which kept him out of action for over two months.

A full international since 2014, he has won more than 40 caps for the Germany national team and represented his country at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and UEFA Euro 2020.

At the end of the season, Goretzka was called up for the 30-man preliminary squad of the Germany national team for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

He made his debut in a friendly match against Poland prior to the World Cup.

During the 2014–15 season, Goretzka was limited to only 11 matches in all competitions due to a thigh injury.

Goretzka helped Schalke finish second behind champions Bayern Munich to qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the first time since the 2014–15 season.

During the 2015–16 season, Goretzka scored two goals in 34 appearances in all competitions.

He was back to full fitness at the start of the season, but had several injuries throughout the season.

Goretzka was also diagnosed with an inflammatory bowel disease during the season and said "I was diagnosed with a chronic bowel inflammation, which had been having a negative impact on my ability to recover."

Goretzka continued: "So I completely changed what I eat, cutting out gluten, cow's milk, pork and nuts. As a result, I have fewer issues with my health and I can recover from a game much quicker.

He was also a part of the Germany Olympic team that finished second at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

During the 2016–17 season, Goretzka played in a career-high 41 matches in all competitions, scoring eight goals.

This was regarded as Goretzka's best season to date as he flourished in a more attacking role.

On 20 April, Goretzka received a concussion and suffered a double fracture of his jaw while playing against Ajax in the Europa League.

During the 2017–18 season, Goretzka played in 29 matches in all competitions and scored four goals.

On 25 November 2017, he played in his 100th Bundesliga game in a match against Schalke's bitter rivals, Borussia Dortmund.

He signed a five-year contract until 30 June 2018.

The transfer fee was reported to be €3.250 million.

On 19 January 2018, Goretzka announced that he would leave Schalke in the summer of 2018 and join rivals Bayern Munich.

His decision did not go down well with the Schalke fans and board.

Schalke's supervisory board chairman, Clemens Tönnies, expressed his first reaction regarding Goretzka's decision on a football talk show.