Mesut Özil, a former footballer who played for Arsenal and Real Madrid has now entered politics.
During a party congress on Sunday, Mesut was appointed to the Central Decision and Management Board of the AKP, the political party of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
As per multiple outlets, Mesut, who has Turkish roots, faced criticism in the later years of his football career because of his close connection with Turkish President.
He retired from the German national team five years before retiring from football altogether.
His decision came after a controversy erupted when he was photographed with Erdogan in London, leading to public backlash and criticism.
Mr Erdogan was also present at Mesut’s wedding when he got married to Amine Gülse in Istanbul.
As per the reports, Reinhard Grindel, who was the president of Germany’s football federation (DFB) at the time, criticized Mesut and other players for meeting the President claiming that they were being used for political gain by Erdoğan.
Not only that, some German politicians even questioned Mesut’s loyalty to Germany and even suggested that he should be removed from the national team before the 2018 World Cup.
