Mustafa Özil, father and former advisor to world champion Mesut Özil, deeply regrets his son’s noisy departure from the national team. “If I had a magic wand, I would turn the wheel back,” he said in “Sport Bild”: “Mesut’s career couldn’t end like this. I still don’t accept it to this day. I’m sad and disappointed. It hurts me.”
The now 35-year-old resigned from the national team following the 2018 World Cup preliminary round exit in Russia and also denounced disrespect and racism in the German Football Association. Previously, a joint picture with teammate Ilkay Gündogan and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan caused a stir.
His son was “influenced by his environment” back then and is still “used to a certain extent,” says Mustafa Özil, who was the Gelsenkirchen native’s manager until 2013. Mesut Özil caused a stir several times with his political statements. In December 2019, the then Arsenal FC professional made critical comments on social media about the oppression of the Uyghurs in China, most recently attracting attention with pro-Palestinian internet posts.
“But you shouldn’t read too much into it. Nevertheless, as a father, I would like him to simply leave out social media messages about his origins, religion and politics. He is an athlete,” said Mustafa Özil, who is waiting for his son to reconcile with the DFB hopes: “My great wish would be for him to work for the DFB one day, for example, in team management or in some advisory role such as foreigner integration.” Aside from the circumstances of his resignation, his son “continues to support successful integration.”
The example of Ilkay Gündogan shows how things could have worked out with better advice, added Mustafa Özil. “He was in the photo with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2018. The criticism was great. And today he is captain of the German national team. Because he has a good environment around him and was given good advice.”
