Ozil and Gundogan, who both have Turkish roots, were booed by German fans in pre-World Cup friendlies after posing with Erdogan in May in London.

Manchester City midfielder Gundogan presented him with a signed club shirt on which he had written “to my president”.

After the tournament, Ozil came in for stinging criticism in Germany for the side’s shock first-round defeat at the World Cup.

Team boss Oliver Bierhoff suggested after the debacle that Germany should have considered dropping Ozil after his failure to explain himself over the Erdogan picture.

Bierhoff later backtracked, saying that he “was wrong” to put Ozil under undue pressure, but the picture continued to draw scorn from fans on social media.

‘Right-wing propaganda’

Ozil said he could abide criticism of his performance on the pitch but not when it was linked to his ethnic background.

“If a newspaper or pundit finds fault in a game I play in, then I can accept this,” he said.

“But what I can’t accept are German media outlets repeatedly blaming my dual-heritage and a simple picture for a bad World Cup on behalf of an entire squad,” he added, calling it “right-wing propaganda”.

“This crosses a personal line that should never be crossed, as newspapers try to turn the nation of Germany against me.”

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