Mario Gotze chose the difficult path by returning to his hometown club Borussia Dortmund, coach Thomas Tuchel has said.
Gotze, 24, re-joined Dortmund on Thursday after spending three largely frustrating years at Bayern Munich despite scoring 35 goals in 109 appearances in Champions League, Bundesliga and DFB Pokal.
In 2013, Gotze activated a €37 million release clause in his contract, and joined Bayern amid Dortmund's push for the Champions League title that season. The transfer was announced in mid-April, only a day before the first leg of the semifinal against Real Madrid.
When returning to the Westfalenstadion as a Bayern player, Gotze received a hostile reception and some supporters continue to hold the attacking midfielder's decision against him.
Upon the announcement of his return to Dortmund, the city he grew up in, the Germany international said that he would not "repeat [the transfer] from where I am today."
He said: "When I now return to my home, I want to try to convince all people with my performances, especially those who will not welcome me with open arms."
Speaking at a news conference in Shanghai, where Dortmund are preparing for their International Champions Cup match against Manchester United, Tuchel said he was impressed with Gotze's decision.
"I am very happy that the transfer worked out. By making this decision and committing to BVB, Mario has chosen to take the difficult path," Tuchel said. "Everyone is well aware of the circumstances in which he departed from Bayern."
Prior to his move, Gotze was linked with a switch to Liverpool, where he could have reunited with his former Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp, and Tottenham, who later dismissed the rumours and said they never made contact.
Tuchel said: "He had plenty of opportunities to simply circumvent this difficult situation -- perhaps by going abroad, to begin anew. But he wanted to come to us."
Gotze will resume training at Dortmund when the club return from their tour of China in early August, and Tuchel hopes to bring the best out of the Germany international.
"We want to use every day available to us from Aug. 1 to help bring his talent back to the fore once more," he said, adding that he believes "Mario is looking for a bit more warmth from his club."