Stuttgart have today announced that the club is parting ways with veteran utility player Kevin Großkreutz after reports emerged of what sounds like a truly ridiculous night out with members of the club's youth teams.
Details are continuing to emerge all the time as what was initially reported as the German World Cup winner being attacked by a group of teenagers on a night out has now developed into something like an episode of 'Dream Team'.
It has been reported that Kevin Großkreutz told Stuttgart officials that he would be staying at home due to sickness, but instead brought members of the clubs U18 and U17 teams out to a bar where he bought them all drinks, from there, the group is reported to have moved on to Burger King where again, Großkreutz was happy to treat the lads.
While that would have been bad news for the club, it only seems to get worse as Bild are reporting that from there, Kevin Großkreutz headed for the red light district and visited a brothel.
The reason for his release is however, above all else; Bild-Zeitung reports a visit to a brothel by the player on the night in question. Whether he was in the company of the minor players, is not clear. Stuttgart have now confirmed to SPORTBILD that Grosskreutz's visit to the red light district was also a trigger for the release.
And it gets worse.
It seems that after leaving the brothel, Großkreutz got in an argument with a group of youths that escalated into a fight where the German international took a beating. Details on who the fight involved are still unclear, but it has been reported elsewhere that those who beat Großkreutz up were members of the Stuttgart youth teams who had been out with him.
An ugly situation.
Speaking at a press conference earlier today, Großkreutz's injuries were clear to see as he apologised profusely for his actions and told the press that he would be taking a break from football.
Großkreutz has been in trouble on a number of occasions before, but this time the question is being asked as to whether this is a wider issue than just a footballer who went out on the lash.
Stuttgart took the decision to release him after a meeting with the player where he accepted full responsibility for his actions and admitted to them that he understood why the decision had to be made.
