Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil has announced his decision to quit the German national team.
On Sunday Ozil said he feels not needed and welcomed into the German national team hence his decision to quit.
Ozil and Manchester City’s Ilkay Gundogan, both with Turkish heritage were criticised by the German Football Association for meeting Recep Tayyip Erdogan in May.
Ozil in a message on Twitter said he would have been “disrespecting his ancestors’ roots” if he did not posed for photographs with the Turkish president.
Ozil said it “was not about politics or elections” when he posed for the photograph saying he is just a footballer.
“I have two hearts, one German and one Turkish,”
“It was about me representing the highest office of my family’s country.
“During my childhood, my mother taught me to always be respectful and to never forget where I came from, and these are still values I think about to this day” he added in a statement.
The past couple of weeks have given me time to reflect, and time to think over the events of the last few months. Consequently, I want to share my thoughts and feelings about what has happened. pic.twitter.com/WpWrlHxx74
— Mesut Özil (@MesutOzil1088) July 22, 2018
II / III pic.twitter.com/Jwqv76jkmd
— Mesut Özil (@MesutOzil1088) July 22, 2018
Hours later Ozil issued another statement explaining why he decided to quit international football with the German national team.
III / III pic.twitter.com/c8aTzYOhWU
— Mesut Özil (@MesutOzil1088) July 22, 2018
Source: Africafeeds.com
