As a Mainz player, team sponsor Nike naturally hoped Wang Shuo would wear Mainz's sportswear.
Preferably the items with the prominent swoosh logo.
Moreover, the photoshoot's backdrop was at Bruch Road Stadium, which was also within Nike's sponsorship domain.
But as Wang Shuo's personal sponsor, Adidas wasn't having it.
Since it was a half-body shot, his feet wouldn't be in the picture, so his shoes naturally couldn't be featured.
Adidas argued that since this was an award for the player, he should represent his personal sponsor and wear Adidas apparel.
For this matter, Adidas dispatched someone to drive all the way from their global headquarters to negotiate with Nike.
Wang Shuo discovered that despite Adidas and Nike being bitter rivals who fought tooth and nail for market share...
But that was all high-level corporate strategy.
Down on the ground, their employees, even some at the director level, actually had pretty good personal relationships.
