Jose Mourinho was full of praise for Marouane Fellaini following his substitute appearance against Chelsea on Sunday as the big Belgian made himself available for selection despite having trained for just two days as he recovered from injury during the build-up to the game.
The Portuguese is a massive fan of Fellaini having defended him from criticism and restored his confidence which lead to a much-improved start to the season, but his sponsors are certainly not quite as pleased after he appeared in a London court to sue them for damages this week.
Fellaini had been wearing New Balance boots - along with other Premier League stars such as Aaron Ramsey and Vincent Kompany - since 2012 and was on a reported £600,000 a year deal with the sportswear brand, but switched to Nike last season and now it is clear as to why.
The Man Utd midfielder issued a writ claiming that the New Balance boots he was given were so poor in quality that the Man Utd kitmen needed to steam and stretch the boots before matches. Fellaini's legal team also claimed that the boots caused an impact on his performance which will no doubt amuse those who have been critical of his play.
New Balance have disputed the claims according to the Daily Mail.
Fellaini's legal team have said that they are also suing for 'loss of employment, inconvenience and impact on performance' due to the damage the boots are claimed to have inflicted.
In response, the boot-maker's claim in court papers that their client, Fellaini, once described the boots as 'perfect' and ordered 12 more pairs.
Manchester United fans had been wondering what happened to the dominant force that proved to be totally unplayable when they drew 4-4 with Everton in April of 2012, but as that was before he had signed New Balance, it all makes perfect sense now.
In all seriousness, anyone who has borrowed a pair of boots from a mate for 5-a-side will tell you that it absolutely does impact performance, but when you are talking about Premier League players it seems crazy that Fellaini would have played in boots that were so uncomfortable.
It's a strange case, one we can't recall seeing before, so it will be interesting to see what comes of it.
New Balance were confirmed as the official kit supplier for the Republic of Ireland back in May.
