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Mesut Özil and Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a joint meeting in 2018

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-/Dpa

Former soccer world champion Mesut Özil posted another election appeal for incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the day of the presidential election in Turkey. "To you always yes," it said in the video, referring to the Turkish president, which Özil shared on Sunday via Twitter. Özil also commented on the video with a heart and a Turkish flag.

Erdoğan is the favorite in a run-off against opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu after neither candidate won an absolute majority in the first round.

Özil campaigned for Erdoğan even before the first vote

Erdoğan has been president since 2014 and has more power than ever since the introduction of a presidential system in 2018. He can largely bypass parliament. Critics fear that the country, which has a population of around 85 million, could slide completely into autocracy if Erdoğan wins again. The opposition wants to return to the parliamentary system.

Before the first vote on May 14, Özil had already published a picture with the Turkish president. At the time, the 34-year-old posted a photo on his verified Instagram and Twitter accounts in which he smiles and shakes hands with the serious-looking Erdoğan; Özil wrote: "We are always with you, Mr. President." On Instagram, he posted another picture with Erdoğan.

Five years ago, Mesut Özil had already caused an affront with a photo with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. In his noisy resignation from the national team after the preliminary round at the 2018 World Cup, Özil had massively criticized the top of the German Football Association for not protecting him against racist attacks, he said. Before the finals, the Gelsenkirchen-born player himself had been criticized for his photos with the Turkish head of state. The 92-time Germany international, who most recently played for Başakşehir Istanbul in Turkey, officially ended his career just under two months ago.

ara/dpa