Mesut Ozil would be welcomed into the Germany fold if he went back on his international retirement, says RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner.
Werner and Ozil were both part of the holders’ shambolic World Cup defence in Russia, where Joachim Low’s side crashed out at the group stage.
After the tournament, the Arsenal playmaker called time on his Germany career after releasing a lengthy statement, in which he criticised treatment from the media in his homeland and German Football Association (DFB) president Reinhard Grindel.
“I think many in the team would be happy if Mesut Ozil said, ‘I’ll do it again’,” Werner said in an interview with SportBild, which will be published in full on Wednesday.
“You can only do that if you are in a Champions League final or at least a semi-final,” he added.
“In Leipzig, we are not quite ready to achieve that.” Werner is under contract at the Red Bull Arena until 2020.
Ozil said his recent treatment made him “no longer want to wear the German national team shirt”.
In a lengthy statement posted on social media, he said he did not feel accepted in German society despite paying taxes, donating to good causes there, and being a World Cup winner.
Germany’s football association, the DFB, was among those to criticise Ozil after he had his photograph taken 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 while I have this feeling of racism and disrespect,” the player said.
“I used to wear the German shirt with such pride and excitement, but now I don’t. I feel unwanted and think that what I have achieved since my international debut in 2009 has been forgotten.”
Germany is home to about three million people of Turkish descent – a point regularly raised in political debate in the country, where immigration and the rise of far-right parties are key issues for many.
And Ozil questions in his statement why other dual-heritage team-mates have not been subjected to the same treatment.
He says he received hate mail and threats and was being blamed for Germany’s disappointing World Cup.
“I am German when we win, but I am an immigrant when we lose,” Ozil said.