How World Cup champion Mario Götze built a parallel career as an angel investor

Berlin: Mario Götze is famous for scoring the winning goal in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. But did you know he is also an angel investor? Götze created a company called Companion M. This company has investments in over 70 startups. Two of these companies became unicorns in 2025. A unicorn is a startup worth over one billion dollars. One of them is Flatpay, a Danish fintech company. The other is Parloa, a German AI startup.

Götze invests mainly in early-stage startups. He usually puts in between €25,000 and €50,000. He focuses on areas where he has expertise. But interestingly, sports are not his main focus. Instead, he looks at B2B software, cybersecurity, and health. This makes sense, as an athlete, he cares a lot about health and performance.

In 2020, Götze made news by investing in a cannabis startup called Sanity Group. At that time, most investors were not interested in cannabis. But Germany later changed its cannabis laws, giving the startup a boost. Even though Götze can’t use cannabis while playing, he is inspired by other athletes like NBA star Kevin Durant, who also invest.

Many soccer players in Europe are now investing in startups. For instance, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappé do the same. As a father of two, Götze must manage his schedule carefully. He fits in calls and meetings around his soccer practices and games.

Götze does not do everything alone. He has a small team to help him with investments and partnerships. This team plays an important role in building his brand for the future. His role as an angel investor also helped him become a brand ambassador for a fintech company called Revolut.

Götze’s family background may help explain his interest in investing. His father is a professor in engineering, and the family spent time in the U.S., where he learned a lot. Götze mainly invests in Europe and the U.S. He has invested in companies like Arcee AI in Miami and Qualifyze in Frankfurt.

Götze continues to hold shares in many startups. Some have raised additional funding, and he already sold shares in others. These exits give him more money to invest again. Götze has also backed many venture capital firms, which help other startups grow.

He is still playing soccer and may extend his contract. However, he plans to focus more on investing after he retires. Even then, he won’t dwell on the businesses he missed out on. He believes that focusing on past choices can lead to poor future decisions. As he puts it, thinking about what you missed won’t help you score the next goal.