Mesut Ozil – from the poster of integration to the storm of racism

Berlin – Once hailed as an award-winning example of integration in Germany Mesut Ozil left international duty in the midst of bitter accusations of racism, Reinhard Grindel, director of the German Football Association (DFB), said: "In the eyes of Grindel and his supporters, I'm German when I win, but I'm an immigrant when we lose ", writes Ozil in a long speech of goodbye. Sunday.

At only 29 years old, Ozil moved away from Germany following the fiasco caused by his meeting, on the eve of the World Cup, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

. He wrote to finally break his silence on the event in London in May.

He leaves Germany after scoring 23 goals in 92 international appearances, having been a key component of the winning side of the 2014 World Cup.

His abi The freedom to divide the defenses into one pbadage has distinguished him as one of the most technically gifted players of his generation.

Born in Gelsenkirchen to Turkish parents, local club Schalke discovered the talents of Ozil, whom he left for the Werder Bremen. in 2008.

His international breakthrough took place at the 2010 World Cup as part of a young and daring German team that played football during major victories over England and the United States. Argentina

Thomas Müller scored Germany's fourth goal in England's 4-1 defeat. He was the favorite of Bloemfontein in 16th place.

After the finals in South Africa, Ozil settled in Real Madrid for 18 million euros. 19659003] However, the shy midfielder first found himself in the gray zone between sport and politics shortly thereafter.

He was booed while playing for Germany at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin in October 2010 to win Turkey.

Berlin has a large Turkish community and many in the crowd of 74,244 people were supporting the team on the outside.

There were loud whistles when Ozil got the ball – just because he had chosen to play for Germany.

He, three members of the Turkish team that night – Nuri Sahin, along with the Hamit brothers and Halil Altintop, were born in the Ruhr industrial region of Germany.

Unlike him, they chose to represent Turkey.

At the time, he scored the second goal in an outstanding 3-0 win and submitted his celebrations out of respect.

Nevertheless, the press service of Angela Merkel published a photo of the German Chancellor congratulating Ozil in the German locker room

The midfielder in a low voice was now the mascot of German integration.

The following month, Ozil won a Bambi Award, a prestigious German media award, as a perfect example of successful integration into German society. w

The subtle differences that Ozil makes on the field often mean that he sometimes fails to shine in the matches.

Ozil left the Bernabeu for Arsenal in 2013 and built a large social media audience with 31 million followers on Facebook, 23 He is known for his charity work, financing medical surgery for 23 Russian children after the World Cup.

He did the same for the sick miners in Brazil and South Africa following the 2010 and 2014 finals.

Yet, on the field, he frustrated fans of Germany and Germany. Arsenal these past seasons with a series of displays below for club and country.

In interviews, he always avoided questions about his legacy. in 2015, he expressed his anger of being called "German-Turk"

"Many forget that I was born in Gelsenkirchen, I grew up in Germany," fulminated-t- he.

"I will not play for Germany anymore … while I have that feeling of racism and disrespect" is a direct challenge to shake the DFB.

However, the rise of populism in Germany was often resumed in some

Ozil's statement Sunday, on three posts on both Instagram and Twitter, was seized by the German right-wing party Alternative for Germany (AfD) who also criticized central defender Jerome Boateng in the past.

"With his tirade of farewell #Ozil turns out to be a typical exam" The integration of too many immigrants from Turkish-Muslim culture ", tweeted Alice Weidel, Vice President of AfD.