Five years after his controversial photo with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, former soccer world champion Mesut Özil and former Bundesliga star (FC Schalke 04 and Werder Bremen) published another photo with the Turkish president immediately before the elections in Turkey.
On his verified Instagram and Twitter accounts, the 34-year-old 2014 World Champion posted a photo smilingly shaking hands with the serious-looking Erdogan; Özil wrote: “We are always with you, Mr. President.” On Instagram he posted another picture with Erdogan.
Elections will take place in Turkey on Sunday. Opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu is ahead in most polls, a neck-and-neck race is emerging.
Erdogan has been president since 2014 and has had more power than ever since the introduction of a presidential system in 2018. He can largely rule without parliament. Critics fear that the country with around 85 million inhabitants could slide completely into autocracy if Erdogan wins again. The opposition wants to return to the parliamentary system.
With 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 native had been criticized for his photos with the Turkish head of state Erdogan. The 92-time German national player, who was last active in Turkey with Basaksehir Istanbul, officially ended his career almost two months ago.