Bayern Munich's Mario Gotze says that the mistakes he has made over the past two years have helped him to mature.
Gotze, 23, scored the winning goal in the 2014 World Cup final but he was named as one of the flops of the year in the Bundesliga last season after suffering a dip in form.
There was speculation over the summer that the Bayern attacker might leave for Juventus but he appears to be back on track after scoring twice in Germany's 3-1 victory against Poland last month.
Gotze backed that display up by getting his first Bundesliga goal of the season in Bayern's 5-1 win over his former club Borussia Dortmund on Sunday.
The player admits that things have not always gone to plan since it was revealed two years ago that he would be making a shock €37 million move to Bayern.
"I have made my own mistakes but I also had to put up with a lot of things that were distorted," he told the Suddeutsche Zeitung. "The last couple of years were in any case like a maturing process for me."
Gotze's switch to Bayern came to light ahead of Dortmund's Champions League semifinal against Real Madrid in April 2013.
The Germany international recognises that his image has suffered in the wake of the transfer and regrets not explaining the reasons for his move sooner and more openly.
"People probably thought, 'He's only gone there for the money. That's not a good person,'" he said. Gotze contends that, after picking up an injury that would eventually force him to miss the Champions League decider that Dortmund lost to Bayern, it was not the right time to speak out.
Now though, he is happy to commit his future to Bayern after admitting last season was "not easy."
"I feel very happy here, I am glad to be a Bayern player. I would love to be the face of Bayern," he said.
"I've played a big role [for the club] in the first two years and I want to play an even greater part.
"I never dealt with a transfer, it's quite possible that other clubs had interest but I had no interest in leaving Bayern."