Mesut Ozil’s agent lashes out at Kroos, Mueller and Neuer for ‘naive or scheming’ criticism of his client’s decision to retire from national team.
Mesut Ozil announced his retirement in July, following a controversial 2,000 word statement, where he talked about his sufferings with racism and disrespect.
Toni Kroos, in an interview with German newspaper Bild, said that there is a ‘lot of nonsense’ in Ozil’s statement. Thomas Mueller and Manuel Neuer, who played alongside Mesut Ozil in German national team, also made critical comments on his decision.
Ozil’s agent, Erkut Sögüt, in a recent interview with German magazine 11Freunde, lashed out at the German trio. He insisted that they were either ‘naive or scheming’ in their criticism.
“Neuer indirectly accused Mesut of not having worn the German jersey with pride. This is unacceptable. Müller did not understand the whole discussion. And Kroos, as a seasoned national team player, should explain what he means by ‘nonsense’,” said his agent.
The agent also described their comments as “more than disappointing – and also out of place,” and added, “There are only two explanations: they are either naive or scheming.”
Earlier, Neuer, Mueller and Germany’s manager Joachim Loew defended that there has not been any incident of racial abuse within the German national team.
“Löw defends himself against an accusation that has never actually been made: Mesut has not been racially abused from within the team but from the midst of German society. The German football association should have been more protective in this case,” clarified Sogut.
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On Ozil’s meeting with Turkish president Erdogan, his agent stated, “That’s how it stays. It is just a matter of respect and courtesy to agree to meet the president of Turkey when he requests it. The two of them have met regularly over the past eight years. It has never been a problem before for the German public.”
