Dortmund hit by Gotze blow as star man misses final

The 20-year-old attacking midfielder has lost his battle to be fit for what would have been his last game for the club ahead of his £31.5million summer move to Bayern.

Gotze suffered a hamstring injury in the semi-final second-leg against Real Madrid and suffered a setback in his recovery when he had to cut short his first training session back with the team yesterday.

Gotze said: "The final was my big goal and in the past weeks I have battled hard for it.

"I am unbelievably sorry that I will not be able to help the team in this important match.

"I have huge belief in our team and will naturally travel with them to London to support the lads off the pitch."

Gotze's absence is a huge blow to Jurgen Klopp's side's mission to upset the odds against the Bundesliga champions.

While Germany is celebrating an all-Bundesliga final, the league's chief executive is warning that clubs such as Liverpool will struggle to win their league again unless Uefa changes how it distributes the financial benefits of the competition.

Christian Seifert believes Uefa need to spread the rewards more broadly. He fears those financial rewards will continue to grow and go straight to the top clubs and further distort national competitions.

"Money coming out of the Champions League is an enormous influence – in Germany it is double the money from the national media contract.

"I think Uefa need to think again how they distribute the money from the Champions League and Europa League because each country needs an attractive national competition and not just two teams dominating.

"When I grew up one of the greatest teams was Liverpool. I'm not sure if they have the chance ever to win the Premier League again.

"Because they have to compete with clubs who have a lot more financial opportunities like Man City and Chelsea plus money that comes from the Champions League.

"It's something you have to have in mind when you want to have a certain balance in between the league."