The Manchester City midfielder has had his say on the treatment of his retired compatriot.

Germany midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has finally risen to the defense of Mesut Ozil who retired from the national team after claiming he was subjected to racist attacks. The Manchester City midfielder, who is also of Turkish descent, was slammed by top German officials alongside his compatriot for posing for a photograph with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan prior to the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Following Die Mannschaft's exit from the tournament, Ozil came under massive scrutiny for his atypical performance in his nation's premature elimination although he personally saw his persecution to be nothing but an act out of spite. As a reaction to the development, the Arsenal midfielder issued a statement expressing his decision to quit the national team while citing racism as the motivating factor.

With fellow teammates Manuel Neuer and Toni Kroos seemingly disagreeing with Ozil's convictions, Gundogan -  who was somewhat directly related to the happenings - has finally given his take on the issue after months of staying mute in the subject.

"Was the affair racially motivated? You're telling me! Is it not racism when a German politician writes on Facebook: 'The German national football team: 25 Germans and two goat f***ers?'" Gundogan stated in an interview with German outlet Funke Sport.

"That's something you have to call racism. Nevertheless, that does not mean that all people in Germany are racists - not at all. Almost all my life I have had good experiences in Germany. I want to say that very clearly here. But there are people who have politically used the resulting photo for themselves. And in this context, the line to racism was partially crossed.

"In sporting terms, I think Mesut's resignation is a pity. He did a lot for German football. It's a loss for the team. Mesut has also done a lot for me personally. He was one of the reasons why I wanted to play for Germany.

"He has paved the way for me. So I would have wished that he would get a better, deserved goodbye. However, one has to say that it was Mesut's decision to go that way - with all the consequences. I would have done it differently - because I'm different from the personality."