Jérôme Boateng criticises Germany team-mates over Özil drama | OneFootball

“Where were the team-mates who thanked Mesut?”

That’s the question Jérôme Boateng has put forward in an interview with Süddeutsche Zeitung. A world champion with Germany, Özil retired from national team duty this summer after complaining that his migration background had seen him marginalised.

The Arsenal midfielder felt he didn’t receive support from the German FA (DFB) and was scapegoated as a German-Turk who let the nation down during last summer’s World Cup.

“German football has changed a little.

“You have to say thank you,” Boateng said.

Instead, Özil’s former team-mates have tried to remove themselves from the drama as much as possible. Boateng believes he knows why:

“Many didn’t dare to comment because they thought it wouldn’t go down well with German fans,” the 30-year-old explained.

Boateng went on to call the photo affair that surrounded Özil, Ilkay Gündoğan and Turkish President Erdoğan “an annoying topic” during the World Cup “which caused unrest”.

Linked with moves away from Bayern Munich this summer, Boateng also hit out at Bayern Munich for not protecting him against much of the public criticism he faces. That criticism often focuses on the way he dresses or how he spends his free-time, but the defender insists he lives a “top professional” lifestyle off the field.

“Wherever things are said about me, I get no public support from the club.

“I don’t know why. I don’t think it’s wrong that I look different or have different interests than other people.”