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Mario Gotze strikes another blow against Adidas with his unsanctioned Nike gear

Dirty Tackle

Bayern Munich had to apologize to kitmaker and minority owner Adidas over the summer when Mario Gotze and Jan Kirchhoff both showed up to their unveiling wearing Nike T-shirts. Gotze was fined €20,000 for honoring his personal sponsorship ties above the club's, but that apparently didn't make a very strong impression on him.

Gotze arrived for training with the German national team ahead of their World Cup qualifier against Ireland in his team issued Adidas gear with a rather noticeable exception: his knee-high socks, which prominently featured Nike swooshes. Gotze switched to Adidas socks when he put on his Nike boots and stepped onto the pitch with his teammates, but by that point the latest shot in his personal war against the German sportswear giant had already been fired and feathers were already mildly ruffled.

German national team PR manager Oliver Bierhoff told Bild:

"There is only free shoe choice for us. Otherwise, we are naturally committed to our partners. Although we do not have employment contracts with the players, we strongly suggest guidelines to make the importance clear to them and show community spirit. Finally, the sponsors are committed to a high degree, not only economically. So such actions should be excluded. "

So why does Gotze keep doing this? Well, it could be a genius plan to infuriate Adidas to the point where they pay him far more than Nike does just to ensure this never happens again. Or, you know, he just doesn't care.