After a very unsuccessful World Cup, Mesut Ozil announced his retirement from the German national team. The much critiqued footballer claimed that he was unfairly scapegoated as the reason for Germany's failure and even linked it to racism.
In his statement, M. Ozil stated that he will not be helping the national team anymore, but left the possibility open for a return. However, the national team's coach Joachim Low confirmed that we will no longer see Ozil in the German national team jersey.
"As I see it, Mesut Ozil clearly decided to retire and decided to close the door on a return himself, so a return is not a topic we can discuss," said the coach.
"Mesut has not contacted me until this day. I tried to reach out to him several times over the past two weeks via text and phone. Mesut chose this path and I have to accept it.
Ozil was my player for nine years. We experienced a lot together. Some downs, but more ups. We won the World Cup. That will remain forever.
I still believe he was one of the best German players in the past 20-30 years. One day we will have a conversation. I wish he had personally informed me of his decision, so initially I was a bit disappointed," J. Low revealed.
