AKIPRESS.COM - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was the best man at German footballer Mesut Ozil's wedding on Friday.

Ozil, who has Turkish roots, sparked a furore when he posed in photos with Mr Erdogan before the World Cup last year, BBC reports.

He then quit international football, citing the "racism and disrespect" he'd experienced over the photos in Germany.

The 30-year-old Arsenal midfielder married his fiancee, former Miss Turkey Amine Gulse, at a luxury hotel on the banks of the Bosphorus.

The couple first started dating in 2017, and announced their engagement in June 2018.

Ozil had announced in March this year that he'd asked Mr Erdogan to be his best man - which, again, sparked criticism in his home country.

Helge Braun, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's chief of staff, told Bild newspaper at the time that it "makes one sad" that Ozil would make such a choice, given the reaction to his meeting with the Turkish president last year.