Mesut Ozil's Agent Lashes Out at Bayern President Uli Hoeness for 'Foolish' Criticism
Mesut Ozil's agent has hit back at Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness following the shocking comments he made after the German midfielder announced his retirement from international football this week.
Ozil has removed himself from consideration for selection for the German national team, citing racial abuse and disrespect as the main factors behind his decision.
The Bayern president moved to criticize the player following the announcement, accusing him of being "s**t for years" and a "ghost" in the side since 2014.
The player's agent, Dr Erkut Sogut, has since spoken to Goal exclusively, hitting back at Hoeness and noting certain stats that prove Ozil had been effective.
"The comments of Mr Hoeness miss the point completely, as they have absolutely nothing to do with football." he said.
"He is trying to divert attention away from the real issue, the issue of racism and discrimination in Germany, which is resurging once again within everyday German society.
"As Mesut said in his statement, he accepts reasonable and fair criticism of his football, and deals with that as part of the job. However, Mr Hoeness cannot even provide any actual evidence to back up his foolish statements that are clearly exaggerated. In this case, the stats are clear.
"Twenty-three goals, 40 assists - which is a German record - and five-time German player of the year - three of which come after 2014.
"He claims that Mesut has been a 'ghost' for years, but what 'ghost' wins all these awards and has this much success? Mesut created more chances in the 2018 World Cup per 90 minutes than any other player, but, of course, he singles him out for criticism. As the president of Bayern Munich is it not best to focus on the performance of his own players seeing as eight of the Germany team play for the club."
Hoeness had also accused the Arsenal star of not making a single tackle in a Germany shirt since 2014. But Sogut has sought to disprove that as well.
"It is obvious that his comment about Mesut not making any tackles is completely made up and false," he continued.
"But, just so everyone knows, in both the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Euros, Mesut won over 65 per cent of duels per game, moreover he was the most important player in the games against France and Italy in 2016, again making a complete mockery of his ludicrous comments."
