Ex-football star Ozil enters politics, joins Erdogan’s AKP

German-born 2014 World Cup winner becomes a member of AKP's central council

By AFP

February 24, 2025

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan meets Premier League soccer players Ilkay Gundogan of Manchester City, Mesut Ozil of Arsenal and Cenk Tosun of Everton in London, Britain May 13, 2018. — Reuters

Mesut Ozil, former Germany, Real Madrid and Arsenal star, has entered political arena after he joined Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP).

The German-born 2014 World Cup winner, who retired in 2023, became a member of the AKP's central council at a congress in Ankara where Erdogan was re-elected for the ninth time as head of the conservative party which has ruled Turkey since 2002.

Ozil, who ended his club career in Istanbul, is a longtime Erdogan supporter, having chosen him as his best man in 2019 for his wedding to a former Miss Turkey, Amine Gulse.

A photo of Ozil and Erdogan with former Germany teammate Ilkay Guendogan, also of Turkish origin, caused controversy, with Berlin accusing the Turkish head of state of repressive drift, while Ozil was criticised by the German far right.

Ozil, previously held up as a symbol of a multicultural Germany, turned his back on the German national team, accusing the German Football Association of racism.