Kevin-Prince Boateng believes that Mesut Ozil's international retirement was "a reaction to the stress" of being publicly criticised and discriminated against in Germany.
The Berlin-born forward played for Germany at underage level before switching to Ghana and believes his own experiences are similar to the Arsenal star's.
Ozil retired from international football after the World Cup, releasing a three-part statement where he highlighted racism and discrimination in Germany and its football association.
Boateng says he was surprised by Ozil's decision to take a step back from playing for Germany but admits he can relate to the choice, having also experienced discrimination while playing.
"I did not expect it," Boateng told Bild. "I think it was a reaction from the stress, and I'm talking from experience, I know what it's like when everyone comes at you, when you're really harshly criticised when your family gets hit."
- Gary Neville hails Mohammed Kudus for ‘incredible’ goal against Manchester City
- Aaron Opoku scores in FC Kaiserslautern's big win over Eintracht Braunschweig
- Ghanaian forward Kelvin Boateng scores 10th league goal of the season
- Semenyo 1st, Partey 6th: Ranking the six Ghanaian players in Premier League on goals and assists
- Fatawu, Inaki, Baba Rahman: Ghanaian players who won titles in the 2023/24 football season
- Read all related articles