Mesut Ozil, the former German international footballer, has married his fiance in Istanbul with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as his best man.

Mr Ozil, a third-generation German, married former Miss Turkey Amine Gulse as Mr Erdogan and his wife watched on with 300 guests during Friday’s ceremony at a luxury hotel on the banks of the Bospherous.

The Arsenal midfielder, 30, who has Turkish roots, faced questions over his loyalty to Germany on the eve of their disastrous 2018 World Cup campaign.

After Germany crashed out in the first round of the campaign, Mr Ozil announced his resignation from the national squad, saying: "I am German when we win, an immigrant when we lose".

The 2014 World Cup winner, who won 92 caps, said that hate mail and death threats had made him “no longer want to wear the German national team shirt". German fans had previously voted him their player of the year five times since 2011.

Mr Ozil, who was born in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, announced his engagement to Miss Gulse, 26, who he had been dating for about a year, in June last year. It was reported the couple spent £20,500 on a hotel suite and that they made a large donation to the Turkish Red Crescent to provide a meal to 15,000 Syrian refugees to celebrate their nuptials.