Is a fan of the Turkish president: Mesut Özil greets Recep Tayyip Erdogan (archive photo). © Uncredited/dpa
Mesut Özil continues to stand by Erdogan. The footballer posts another photo on Instagram - and is relieved about the outcome of the Turkish run-off election.
Istanbul - The proximity to the president brought him a lot of trouble, but Mesut Özil does not move away from him: Shortly after Recep Tayyip Erdogan's victory in the run-off election in Turkey, the footballer was happy with the result. "Thank God," the former Germany international wrote on Instagram and Twitter under a photo showing him together with the new and old president. The statement is flanked by a Turkish flag and a heart.
Run-off election in Turkey: Özil posts photo with election winner Erdogan on Instagram
With his commitment to the Turkish president, who is sometimes controversial in Germany, Mesut Özil has regularly caused a stir even before the run-off election. Shortly before the start of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Özil, who was still in the service of the German national team at the time, came out as a fan of Erdogan for the first time with a photo. This had caused great unrest in the DFB eleven at the time and is now considered one of many reasons for the early World Cup exit. In the meantime, Özil, who was born in Gelsenkirchen and most recently played for Basaksehir Istanbul in Turkey, has officially ended his career.
In recent days, he has repeatedly influenced the election campaign in Turkey. The 92-time Germany international had published a video on Saturday, one day before the run-off election, calling for Erdogan's election. Sunday evening after the announcement of the election results, the new photo on Instagram followed, which shows him together with Erdogan and his wife Emine in front of the government plane.
Turkey run-off election: Erdogan's victory meets with mixed reactions in Germany
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 Germany, the outcome met with a mixed response. While German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) officially congratulated Erdogan on his election victory, Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir was irritated by the high number of Erdogan voters among Turks living in Germany. (jkf/dpa
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