Arsenal star Mesut Ozil has extended an invitation for his upcoming wedding to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who plans to attend.
Accompanied by his fiancee, Amine Gulse, Ozil met with Erdogan at the Ataturk Airport in Istanbul last week to invite the leader in person.
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) disclosed the news via their official Twitter page, where they uploaded a photo from the meeting. The tweet goes onto state that Erdogan has accepted Ozil's invitation.
Cumhurbaşkanımız Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, futbolcu Mesut Özil ve nişanlısı Amine Gülşe'yi Atatürk Havalimanı'nda kabul etti. pic.twitter.com/YZMzIQxQKE
— AK Parti (@Akparti) March 15, 2019
Ozil, who was born in Germany but is of Turkish descent and has family in country, courted controversy last year after he was photographed alongside Erdogan before the World Cup.
He ended up retiring from the Germany national team after receiving xenophobic abuse from the media citing "racism and disrespect" among the reasons behind his decision.
In a strongly worded statement announcing his decision to quit international football following Germany's group stage exit from the World Cup, Ozil wrote that he would "no longer stand for being a scapegoat."
And following his decision to invite Erdogan to his wedding, Ozil has again attracted criticism in Germany.
"I think it's inappropriate," German politician Cem Ozdemir told Bild on Sunday.
The Arsenal playmaker got engaged to Gulse in January. The date of the wedding is yet to be disclosed.
Gulse, a former Miss World Turkey, is a well-known actress in her country.
