Bayern red-faced by Goetzes T-shirt blunder

03 July 2013 14:22

Germany midfielder Mario Goetze got off on the wrong foot with his new employers Bayern Munich when he posed for the cameras at the European Champions in a T-shirt displaying the brand of a rival sponsor.

For the last decade, Bayern have a lucrative sponsorship contract with Adidas, which runs until 2020, and the German sportswear giants own a 9.4 percent stake in the Champions League winners, which is worth 77 million euros (US$100m, £65m).

Goetze, 21, who has signed from Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund, held his first press conference as a Bayern player on Tuesday, but wore a T-shirt with a huge logo of his private sponsor Nike on the chest, which left Bayern red-faced.

Adidas spokesman Oliver Brueggen has said the company were "unpleasantly surprised" by Goetze's choice of attire and Bayern were quick to apologise with media director Markus Hoerwick promising "such a thing will never happen again".

"We immediately called Adidas to apologise, the T-shirt passed us by in the general hustle and bustle," explained Hoerwick.

Goetze's management also contacted Adidas to apologise for the error, while Nike spokesman Olaf Markhoff told Munich daily Abendzeitung that Goetze's choice of T-shirt was nothing to do with them: "Our influence doesn't go that far!".

Source: AFP