Mesut Ozil was married in Istanbul today with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as his best man.
The 30-year-old Ozil, who has Turkish family roots, sparked controversy last year when he was photographed with Erdogan, raising questions about the footballer's loyalty to Germany on the eve of their disastrous 2018 World Cup campaign.
The Turkish leader arrived in the early evening for Friday's ceremony at a luxury hotel on the banks of the Bosphorus to see the former Arsenal midfielder marry his fiancee, former Miss Turkey Amine Gulse.
Ozil announced in March that he had asked Erdogan to be his best man.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's chief of staff was part of a chorus of criticism of the invitation.
Helge Braun, a CDU told the Bild newspaper then that it 'makes one sad' that Ozil would make a such a move despite having already been sharply criticised by the German public over his first meeting with Erdogan.
Ozil has dated Gulse since 2017 and the couple announced their engagement in June 2018.
Dailymail