Will footballer Mesut Özil change the game for Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey?

Less than a month after announcing his retirement from international football, there is speculation that Mesut Özil will take to a new pitch – politics.

Rumours that Özil, who played for Arsenal and Germany but has Turkish roots, will be a candidate for Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) are running rampant.

Will the 34-year-old Özil run for political office? And can he change the game for Erdogan – who is facing political headwinds as well as economic woes – in his bid for re-election?

Let’s take a closer look:

Turkey is set for presidential elections on 14 May.

Erdogan, for his part, has offered a hint.

According to the Times UK, Erdogan has said many ‘unexpected names’ including a sporting celebrity will be on the AKP list of candidates.

It wouldn’t be surprising given the extent of the friendship between the two men.

The two men first met in 2010 during a World Cup qualifier between Turkey and Germany, as per Goal.com.

While Germany prevailed 3-0, Özil, who scored the second goal, was booed by some Turkish fans despite keeping his celebrations lowkey.

Özil said he did so to show respect for the homeland of his ancestors.

“Of course I was really happy. It was fantastic for me to score in this match. But I made the spontaneous decision not to overdo the celebrations,” Özil  said, as per the website.

Özil in 2018 came under fire prior to the World Cup for posing for a controversial photograph with Erdogan – all of which sparked questions about his loyalty to Germany’s squad ahead of the tournament in Russia.

“I have two hearts, one German and one Turkish,” said Özil .

The photo, which was published on the presidential website and the Twitter feed of the ruling party, came on the eve of Turkey’s 2018 presidential election that Erdogan won to claim sweeping new powers.

Erdogan was at the time engaging in a sweeping political crackdown that followed a failed coup attempt against his government.

However, Özil insisted that that despite the timing, the picture “wasn’t about politics or elections, it was about me respecting the highest office of my family’s country”.

“My job is a football player and not a politician, and our meeting was not an endorsement of any policies,” Özil added.

“Although the German media have portrayed something different, the truth is that not meeting with the President would have been disrespecting the roots of my ancestors, who I know would have been proud of where I am today,” he said, according to per DW.

Germany is home to more than three million people of Turkish origin.

Özil  in July that year faced an uproar in Germany but was acclaimed in Turkey after he quit the national football team over ‘racism and disrespect’ following the fallout of the meeting with Erdogan.

“It is with a heavy heart and after much consideration that because of recent events, I will no longer be playing for Germany at international level whilst I have this feeling of racism and disrespect,” he said in a statement on social media.

Taking aim at German Football Association (DFB) President Reinhard Grindel, Özil said he would “no longer stand for being a scapegoat for [Grindel’s] incompetence and inability to do his job properly,” as per DW.

“In the eyes of Grindel and his supporters, I am German when we win, but I am an immigrant when we lose,” he added. “I feel unwanted and think that what I have achieved since my international debut in 2009 has been forgotten.

“Despite paying taxes in Germany, donating facilities to German schools and winning the World Cup with Germany in 2014, I am still not accepted into society. I am treated as being ‘different’.”

Özil  also added he had been unfairly blamed in Germany for the side’s shock group stage exit at the World Cup.

In 2019, Erdogan was best man at Özil ’s wedding to former miss Turkey former Miss Turkey Amine Gulse, as per BBC.

Özil most recently played for the Turkish clubs Fenerbahce and Istanbul Basaksehir before calling time on his career.

Özil said injuries played a role in his decision.

“I’ve had the privilege to be a professional football player for almost 17 years now and I feel incredibly thankful for the opportunity,” Özil wrote on social media. “But in recent weeks and months, having also suffered some injuries, it’s become more and more clear that it’s time to leave the big stage of football.”

Erdogan facing uphill bid for re-election

The Turkish Opposition in February picked Kemal Kilicdaroglu as its candidate to challenge Erdogan.

Kilicdaroglu is the 74-year-old leader of the center-left, secularist Republican People’s Party, or CHP.

A runoff presidential election would be held on 28 May if none of the candidates secure more than 50 per cent of the vote.

However, as per Times UK, opinion polls favour Kilicdaroglu to win the run-off.

The elections could be the country’s most significant ones in decades. Erdogan is seeking to extend his two decades in power, and the voting will determine whether Turkey continues on the increasingly authoritarian course set by the strongman politician.

Erdogan has ruled over Turkey since 2003, first as prime minister and as president since 2014. The upcoming elections could present him with his stiffest electoral challenges.

Turkey is struggling with a troubled economy, soaring inflation and the aftermath of the 6 February earthquake, which left hundreds of thousands of people across 11 Turkish provinces sheltering in tents or temporary accommodation.

Many have criticized his government’s response to the earthquake and accuse it of failing to prepare the earthquake-prone country for a disaster in waiting.

With inputs from agencies

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Updated Date:

April 11, 2023 16:06:53 IST