Lifestyle

This Soccer Star's Nutella Addiction May Have Led To Dismissal From Team

by Adam Silvers
Reuters-Lee Smith/Reuters-Michaela Rehle

International soccer star Max Kruse was reportedly kicked off the German national team because of a string of recent incidents, including his alleged addiction to Nutella.

Yes, Nutella, as in the delicious chocolatey-hazelnut spread.

The 28-year-old Kruse was also allegedly involved in other incidents, including leaving an enormous amount of cash in a Berlin taxi in October and getting into some sort of scuffle at a Berlin nightclub while celebrating his birthday.

Apparently, Kruse's Nutella addiction was already under scrutiny by his club team, VfL Wolfsburg. The team's director, Klaus Allofs, reportedly reprimanded Kruse during a training session for the large amount of Nutella he had been consuming.

Speaking on Kruse's dismissal from the squad, German national team coach Joachim Löw allegedly said,

I already told him clearly last week what I expect of him, on and off the field. I want players who are focused on football and the European Championship, also between matches. The incident last weekend contradicts my expectations. Max has behaved unprofessionally repeatedly. I can't accept it. The European Championship is coming up this summer and we need players who are focused and who [are] conscious of their model role.

I understand Kruse's teams being mad about him losing a lot of cash in a taxi and getting into an altercation at a club, but a Nutella addiction? Really?

In Germany, if a Nutella addiction is considered wrong, I don't want to be right.

Citations: German soccer player kicked off national team after string of bizarre behaviour that includes Nutella addiction (National Post), Max Kruse: Germany striker dropped after poker & Nutella issues (BBC)