NEWS
Ex-DFB International Regrets Decision: "I am a Turk"
The 33-year-old once played for Germany. He regrets that he will never play for Turkey.
Kerem Demirbay (33) played for Hoffenheim and Leverkusen, among others, in the German Bundesliga.
The veteran now plays for Kasimpasa in Turkey. In 2017, he made two international appearances for Germany. Before that, he played for Turkey in their youth national teams. He now regrets that he chose the DFB at that time.
In an interview with journalist Yagiz Sabuncouglu, he clarifies: "I wanted to play for Turkey; we courted the association for a year and a half. But due to certain things I cannot talk about, I had to choose Germany."
Tattoo a Problem?
Demirbay has an outline of Turkey tattooed on his shoulder. "I took off my jersey and my Turkey tattoo was visible. That changed the dynamic, also in the media. How can a player play for Germany and have the map of another country tattooed? After that, I was never called up again," he says.
In Germany, he was considered a foreigner and was therefore never nominated again. "I would never play for Germany again, even if they called me now," says the midfielder.
In 2023, Demirbay left Germany for Istanbul and moved to Galatasaray. "My blood is Turkish. My father is Turkish, my mother is Turkish – I am a Turk. My greatest regret will always be never having worn the jersey of the Turkish national team," says the 33-year-old.
