Mesut Ozil made the toughest decision of his career - the 29-year-old footballer who became world champion in 2014 announced his withdrawal from the German national team in the social space.
The footballer, who was heavily criticized by the German media during the tragic 2018 World Cup, today shared messages about his situation in the national team on his official Twitter account all day, and in the final part he confirmed that it was a farewell to the national team.
M. Ozil faced hate in his country and in the media after immortalizing himself with Turkish President Recep Erdogan. M. Ozil is of Turkish descent German, which caused such a fuss in the country's press.
The scandalous photo with the Turkish president. (Scanpix photo) The German national team player in his public letter stated that after the photo with this political figure, he felt hatred and disrespect in the country's football federation itself. He said that this led him to withdraw from the national team at the age of only 29.
"After calming down the storms and emotions, I can say that I will no longer play for the German national team where I faced racial hatred and simple lack of respect. I wore the German team jersey with great honor, but not anymore today. Making this decision was an especially difficult task because I did everything for my team friends, coaches, staff, and other good people in Germany throughout the years.
However, when the highest people in the federation humiliate you, do not respect your roots, and use you as political propaganda, then you have to say to yourself that it is enough. This is not the reason why I play football and I promise no longer do anything about this issue. Racism cannot be tolerated," - wrote M. Ozil in his last message.
M. Ozil began his career in the German national team back in 2009. In total, the German played 92 matches, scored 23 goals, and was one of the main players who led Germany to triumph in the 2014 World Cup.
