Former Germany, Real Madrid and Arsenal star Mesut Özil, who retired in 2023, became a board member of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) on Sunday.
The German-born 2014 World Cup winner became a member of the AK Party’s central council at a congress in Ankara where Erdoğan was reelected for the ninth time as head of the party which has ruled Türkiye since 2002.
The board, known as MKYK, consists of 75 members in total.
Özil, who ended his club career in Istanbul, is a longtime Erdoğan supporter, having chosen him as his best man in 2019 for his wedding to a former Miss Türkiye, Amine Gülse.
A photo of Özil and Erdoğan with former Germany teammate Ilkay Gündoğan, also of Turkish origin, caused controversy, with Berlin hurling “baseless” accusations at the Turkish state.
Özil turned his back on the German national team, accusing the German Football Association (DFB) of racism. The DFB head later admitted that he had not been supportive enough in Özil's case.
