OMM Newsroom
Former Germany international Kerem Demirbay has said he regrets choosing to represent the national team. He said he had wanted to play for Turkey and had worked with the Turkish football federation for a year and a half toward that goal.
Demirbay said he chose Germany for certain reasons he could not discuss. He said he took off his shirt while celebrating a goal, revealing a tattoo of Turkey on his back, and was never called up to the German national team again. The tattoo depicts the outline of Turkey’s borders and is on his right shoulder blade.
“Even if they called me now, I would never play for Germany again. I am Turkish, and I will regret for the rest of my life not having been able to wear Turkey’s glorious national-team shirt,” Demirbay said. His remarks were published by the Daily Mail.
Demirbay’s career
The 33-year-old footballer was born in Germany. As both his parents are Turkish, he was eligible to play for Turkey and appeared for the country’s youth teams. At senior level, however, he chose to represent the country where he was born.
Demirbay made two appearances for Germany in June 2017, when he was playing for Hoffenheim, and scored one goal.
