Mesut Özil and Recep Tayyip Erdogan on 14.05.2018. The footballer has once again shared a photo with the re-elected Turkish president. © -/Pool Presdential Press Service/AP/dpa
"Thank God": This is how the Gelsenkirchen native comments on the re-election of Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Because of his support of the Turkish head of state, Özil has often been criticized.
Istanbul - Former soccer world champion Mesut Özil has once again shown himself with incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdogan after winning the presidential election. Özil shared a photo on Instagram on Sunday evening in which he can be seen with Erdogan in front of his plane. The president's wife, Emine Erdogan, can also be seen in the picture.
Özil wrote "Thank God" and posted a heart and a Turkish flag. Even before the vote, Özil had shared a picture with Erdogan and called for the election of the president.
The 69-year-old Erdogan had won the run-off election against opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu (74) on Sunday. According to preliminary results of the electoral authority, Erdogan received about 52 percent of the vote, Kilicdaroglu about 48 percent.
In his noisy resignation from the national team after the preliminary round at the 2018 World Cup, Özil had massively criticized the top of the German Football Association. Before the finals, the Gelsenkirchen-born had been criticized for his photos with the Turkish head of state Erdogan. The 92-time Germany international, who most recently played for Basaksehir Istanbul in Turkey, officially ended his career just under two months ago. Dpa
