Could be that Mesut Ozil is on the hunt for a new boot sponsor, after reports have emerged that suggest that adidas will not extend the private sponsorship deal with the German after the end of the season. Ozil originally signed with the Three Stripes back in 2013, and has been the face of several campaigns, but after seven years that could all be coming to an end.
Ozil's seven-year deal with adidas was worth around £22million and it saw him make a high-profile switch from Nike to their biggest rivals. Since then he has been one of adidas’ key faces, most notably being positioned as the lead for the Three Stripes’ laceless revolution, the ACE 16+ Purecontrol, before also becoming a prominent figure for the relaunch of the Predator. But Ozil's public image is now coming into focus and is said to be one of the major factors behind the brand's decision to not renew the partnership, following a number of controversial incidents in recent years, most of which are linked to certain political views.
These incidents included his quitting the German national team in 2018 after claiming he had been made a scapegoat for their World Cup failure in Russia, his involvement with controversial Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan – a man described as a modern-day dictator by his harshest critics – and his criticism of China's treatment of ethnic Uighur Muslims in the western region of Xinjiang. China, who have become the Premier League's most lucrative overseas broadcast market, cancelled the live coverage of Arsenal's game against Manchester City as a result and the midfielder was also removed from the country's 2020 version of Pro Evolution Soccer.
And it hasn’t stopped there. More recently, Ozil was on the end of a furious backlash from fans after refusing to take a 12.5 per cent pay cut during the coronavirus crisis – despite being the club's best-paid player on £350,000 a week, in a deal that runs until 2021. All of this is on top of some dubious performances during his time with the Gunners, with many questioning his all-round commitment to the team.
If adidas do decide to part ways with the German, they would be the second major sponsor Ozil will have lost in the last two years after Mercedes also allowed his contract to expire in 2018, for similar reasons to those outlined above.
But as well as the hit Ozil’s off-pitch persona has taken, it’s also claimed that another reason the Arsenal man is being dropped is because adidas are desperate to cut costs during the pandemic after seeing their profits take a major hit. Ozil has always been a huge advocate of the Predator line in particular, turning out in pretty much every rerelease that’s been launched over the last few seasons. Have to imagine he’d be sad to see his tie to that iconic silo end.
Nothing confirmed yet. Could there still be space for an agreement to be reached?
