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Sports News of Wednesday, 3 June 2020

Source: www.mynigeria.com

Adidas to end Mesut Ozil's £22m sponsorship deal

Mesut Ozil Mesut Ozil

Giant sportswear manufacturer, Adidas, has failed to extend Mesut Ozil's lucrative sponsorship deal due to concerns over his public image.

Ozil who earns £350,000-per-week wage at Arsenal has now lost a second major sponsor in recent years after Mercedes ended their relationship with the player in 2018.

According to German newspaper BILD, Adidas became the 22-year-old's bootmaker back in 2013 when he was a Real Madrid player, having switched from Nike to their biggest rivals on a deal which was worth around £22million.

The 31-year-old was reportedly axed over his public image, following a number of controversial incidents in recent years.

The playmaker sensationally quit the German national team in 2018 after claiming he had been made a scapegoat for their World Cup failure in Russia.

His relationship with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who has been described as a modern-day dictator has been heavily criticised.

Ozil, who has Turkish roots, was also heavily criticised for having Erdogan as his best man at his wedding to Amine Gulse last June.

As a result, China cancelled the proposed broadcast of Arsenal vs Man City, and Ozil was also removed from the Chinese version of video game Pro Evolution Soccer 2020.

Last December Ozil was involved in more controversy after he criticised China's treatment of ethnic Uighur Muslims in the western region of Xinjiang.

Bild also claims that another reason Ozil is being dropped is that Adidas are desperate to cut costs during the pandemic after seeing their profits take a major hit.

DailyMail/Mirror