Mesut Ozil has tweeted his support to Jerome Boateng after his brutal axing from the German national team but failed to share a message of sympathy with both Mats Hummels and Thomas Muller.
Germany boss Joachim Low revealed on Tuesday he is not planning to call up the trio of World Cup winners again, effectively bringing an end to their international careers.
The Bayern Munich trio, who on Tuesday all trained with their club, were part of the squad who triumphed in Brazil in 2014, but also the group who crashed out of the last year’s World Cup at the group stage in Germany’s earliest exit in 80 years.
All three have struggled to hit their best form this season, with Low claiming he now needs to look to the future to bring in a new era of success.
“I thank Mats, Jerome, and Thomas for the many successful, extraordinary and unique years we shared,” Low said in a statement issued by the German FA.
“Now it is time to set the course for the future. We want to give the team a new look.
“I am convinced that this is the right step. The youngsters coming through will have the room they need to grow. Now it’s up to them to take on responsibility.”
Ozil took to social media to share his exasperation at the decision that Boateng, his good friend, will no longer be playing for his country.
Ozil retired from international football after his country’s disastrous World Cup defence in Russia last summer.
The 30-year-old was criticised in Germany prior to the World Cup when he and City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, who are both of Turkish descent, were pictured alongside Turkey’s controversial president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
And after the 2014 winners crashed out in the group stage, Ozil announced his retirement and hit out at the “racism and disrespect” he felt he had faced.
In July 2018, he wrote on Twitter: “The treatment I have received from the DFB and many others makes me no longer want to wear the German national team shirt.
“I feel unwanted and think that what I have achieved since my international debut in 2009 has been forgotten.
“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.”
There was no sign of any message towards either Hummels or Muller on Ozil’s twitter feed as he appeared to ignore their departures from the squad.
With close to 250 internationals between them, Hummels (70 caps), Muller (100) and Boateng (74) were part of the same generation.
Hummels and Boateng, both 30, played together in the 2009 Under 21 European Championship triumph as Germany started to reap the rewards of a major and sustained investment in youth players that had started seven years earlier.
They all graduated to the senior team and Boateng and Muller took part in the 2010 World Cup where Germany’s youngest tournament team in 76 years reached the semi-finals with an exciting run that included wins over England and Argentina.
The trio’s international cycle was complete when Germany were crowned world champions in 2014, having also clinched an extraordinary 7-1 victory against hosts Brazil in the semi-finals.
“I am personally convinced that I can still play at the highest level and will continue to do so,” Boateng wrote on Twitter.
“I was always extremely proud to wear the national team top and I will never forget the summer of 2014. But I would have obviously wished for a different departure.”
