The Inevitable Has Happened; Gómez to Fiorentina

Four years, 172 games, 112 goals.

Mario Gómez split time up top to start his FC Bayern Munich career with Miroslav Klose, he split time up top to end his FC Bayern Munich career with Mario Mandžukić.

Most importantly, he bookends his career with multiple titles.

Now it is time for him to move on, and for his flowing black hair to bounce on stranger tides.

FC Bayern and AS Fiorentina finally agreed on a transfer fee after bickering like a penny pincher with a car salesman, the upfront fee being €16 million and the Italian side playing the remaining €4 million later. Gómez will sign a four year contract and will stand alongside Michelangelo's David until 2017.

Sigh... The inevitable has happened.

Gómez is now the second consecutive German striker to leave the Tinseltown-esque flair of Munich to pursue the shores of Italy, following Miroslav Klose to Serie A where the two will now square off at least twice a year.

When FC Bayern met Mario Götze's buyout clause just three months prior, the speculation game fluttering in from all directions. Arjen Robben was the natural selection from the public to depart, considering the similarities in positioning over the past season or two. Gómez's name was thrown into the mix, and he had to idle along while vultures circled around his legacy at Bayern, waiting for it to end.

Then came interest from the outside. Fiorentina, Napoli, Juventus, Manchester City all with alleged interest at one point or another. The possibilities were there for the taking, and Gómez started to feel less and less in Bayern's future plans.

Desperate to make a run at a Champions League spot, Fiorentina stepped up to the plate. Their grip on Stefan Jovetić, while still strong enough, was losing its muscular fortitude while clubs continue tried to pull and pry away the 23-year-old. Gómez becomes the breath of fresh air for the city of Florence as they undertake a run in the Europa League.

Now comes the question of what to make of the Gómez Era at FC Bayern. Three champions league finals, one domestic double, and one treble in Gómez's tenure, but that came when Gómez was sharing the striker slot consistently with others. In the campaigns where he started more than 30 games, the two seasons sandwiched in the middle of domestic dominance, Bayern was trophy-less, an afterthought, a footnote to Borussia Dortmund's rise to European power.

What is indesputable is a transformed top of the Bayern front line with the Gómez era at its end. Pep Guardiola has the coaching agility to install a traditional striker or put a false nine up front, a more fluid and versatile attack up top than the Gómez years.

Still, the nostalgia of the Ribéry-to-Gómez combination will set in, and his contributions over his time in a red jersey will forever be intertwined with Bayern's return to European dominance. His goal record in the Bundesliga is still one of the best in the past decade, finding the net in whatever way possible.

Flow on, Gómez hair, and enjoy your time in Italy.