Özil's father:

'If I were Mesut, I would quit' By Rune Gjerulff

Mesut Özil's father, Mustafa Özil, says he understands if his son decides to quit the national team.

Aleksandar Dragovic (left) and Mesut Özil (right). Photo: Granada, CC-by-SA 4.0

Arsenal star Mesut Özil has been subject to a lot of criticism, both before, during and after Germany's disappointing World Cup campaign in Russia that saw 'Die Mannschaft' crash out at the group stage.





Not only has Özil's performances been questioned. The German international has also been under fire after he and Ilkay Gündogan were pictured with controversial Turkish president Recept Tayyip Erdogan before the tournament. Recently, the German national team's general manager, Oliver Bierhoff, even said that the incident could have been seen as a reason to exclude Özil from the World Cup squad.



Now, Mesut Özil's father, Mustafa Özil, has said that he would quit the national team if he were in his son's shoes.



"If I were in his place, I would say 'thank you, but that was it'. The offense is too big. If I were Mesut, I would quit," Mustafa Özil told Sport Bild and added:



"To say that they should have thought about leaving Mesut out is a bad joke."



"It is always said that if we win, we'll win together. But if we lose, we lose because of Özil? He is now being booed and branded as a scapegoat. I understand that he is offended."



Özil, 29, has appeared 92 times for Germany since he made his debut in 2009.





