"It was too long for me": Jogi Löw hasn't read Mesut Özil's statement announcing his retirement from the national team

Özil had made headlines in the run-up to the 2018 tournament because – just like Ilkay Gündogan – he had visited Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and had his photo taken with him. 

Public sentiment in Germany turned against Özil, who resigned following Germany’s historic group-stage exit in Russia and accused DFB officials of racism in a three-part post written in English. 

"I never read the whole press release or the reasons behind it. Firstly, it was too long for me, and secondly, I was disappointed at the time because I hadn’t actually heard it from him personally," Löw said in the ZDF documentary "Mesut Özil – zu Gast bei Freunden". 

Özil himself was not available for the multi-part documentary and has been turning down all media enquiries for several years. "Mesut now lives in Turkey and is rarely in Germany, or only very rarely," reported Löw.

According to Özil’s former agent, Erkut Sögüt, the fact that the resignation statement turned into a reckoning with DFB officials was the player’s own wish: “For Mesut, it was clear from the start: we have nothing to apologise for. We did nothing wrong. That was exactly how he wanted it,” he said. 

Özil ended his football career in 2023, having most recently played for Istanbul Basaksehir in Turkey.