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Mesut Ozil wrote an open letter defending a controversial image that he posed alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Ozil's teammate and Germany's Ilkay Gundogan made headlines with Erdogan, who turned out to be a polarizing political figure.
He was at the center of a failed coup d'état attempt in July 2016 that saw blood flowing through the streets of Istanbul as soldiers and tanks were deployed.
But Ozil, who is of mixed German and Turkish descent, insists that the image was not the result of political intentions.
Instead, Ozil says it was simply a matter of respect towards the president of his ancestors' country, and that they discussed football as Erdogan had the habit of playing like a youngster.
In a long statement on his Twitter account, Ozil defended the photo and said that he would have posed for the shot that was in office.
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Ozil wrote: "These past two weeks have given me time to reflect and reflect on the events of the past few months, to share my thoughts and feelings about what has happened.
"Like many people, my ancestry goes back to more than one country.When I grew up in Germany, my family has its roots in Turkey.I have two hearts, a German and a turkish, my mother taught me to always be respectful and never to forget where I come from, and these are values that i still think about today.
"In May, I met President Erdogan in London, at a charity and educational event: we met for the first time in 2010 after he and Angela Merkel watched the match. Germany vs. Turkey in Berlin I know that the picture of us has caused a huge reaction in the German media, and although some people may accuse me of lying or being misleading, the picture we took had no political intention.My mother never let me lose sight of my ancestry, my heritage and my family traditions … For me, having a photo with President Erdogan wasn''t a matter of politics or elections, but of respect for the highest position in the country of my family, a footballer and not a politician, and our meeting was not about the adoption of policies, but about the same subject that we have encountered every time we We met – football – as he did in his youth.
"Although the German media has portrayed something different, the truth is that not meeting the president would have been a lack of respect for the roots of my ancestors, which I know I would be proud of where I am today. No matter who was president, it was important that it be the president.
Having respect for political office is a point of view that Queen and Premier Theresa May share, I am sure, when they, too, welcomed Erdogan. in London. Whether it is the Turkish President or the German President, my actions would not have been different.
"I understand that this can be difficult to understand, because in most cultures, the political leader can not be considered separate from the person, but in this case, it is different. or the election before that, I would have taken the picture again. "
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