Midfielder Kerem Demirbay told Turkish journalist Yagiz Sabuncuoglu he regrets playing international football for Germany.
Now at Kasimpasa in Turkey, Demirbay previously spent his entire career in Germany, where he was born.
Joachim Löw handed Demirbay his Germany debut in 2017. He won the Confederations Cup with Germany that same year, although he played only one match in the tournament.
Demirbay now regrets his two appearances for Germany. "I have Turkish blood. My father is Turkish, my mother is Turkish. I am Turkish. I wanted to play for Turkey, and we worked on that with the federation for a year and a half. But because of certain circumstances, which I cannot talk about, I chose Germany."
He says he would never make that choice again. If Jürgen Klopp were to call him up for the German FA now, Demirbay would flatly refuse because of how the German FA treated him after he scored a goal at the Confederations Cup.
"After I scored for Germany, I took off my shirt and they saw the Turkish tattoo on my back. After that, I was never selected again." Demirbay has the outline of Turkey's border tattooed on his right shoulder blade.
"I regret ever playing for Germany and I would never do it again, even if they called me up now. I am Turkish. I will always regret never having worn the glorious shirt of the Turkish national team."