Mario Götze has received a special award: The ex-BVB professional is now the holder of the State Order of Merit of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The footballer and World Cup hero from 2014 Mario Götze (28) received a special honor. On Sunday, August 23, 2020, Armin Laschet (59), Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), awarded him the Order of Merit in Cologne. The ex-BVB professional was honored "for his international commitment to promoting children and young people", as it says on the Twitter account of the NRW State Chancellery.
"A very special thing" for the new dad
In the video for the tweet, Götze says that the Order of Merit is "a very special thing" for him. For him, the award means that he has "done a really great job" – "regardless of the football field". Only selected citizens receive this medal, which is "a great honor" for the football player. Götze also says that it is important to "give back" and "things that were self-evident to me in my childhood, whether it is education, whether it is sport, access to opportunities to (…) advance and to be a role model for it. "
His wife Ann-Kathrin Götze (30) and son Rome, who was born in early June, were not there in Cologne.