Kerem Demirbay said his greatest regret will always be never having worn the Turkey national team shirt, and claimed his Turkey tattoo affected his Germany international career thereafter. GOAL says the 33-year-old now plays for Kasimpasa.
What Demirbay said about choosing Germany
Demirbay told journalist Yagiz Sabuncuoglu: "I wanted to play for Turkey. We courted the federation for a year and a half. But because of certain things I can't talk about, I had to choose Germany."
The now 33-year-old said: "My blood is Turkish. My father is Turkish, my mother is Turkish: I am Turkish. My greatest regret will always be never having worn the Turkey national team shirt."
His Germany appearances and the tattoo claim
GOAL says Demirbay has played two international matches for Germany. GOAL says Joachim Löw called him up only twice, both in the summer of 2017, with Demirbay making his debut in a friendly against Denmark in June before joining the squad that won the Confederations Cup in Russia a few weeks later.
GOAL says Demirbay made his only Confederations Cup appearance against Cameroon in the third group match and scored the opener in a 3-1 win.
Demirbay said: "I took off my shirt and people saw my Turkey tattoo."
GOAL says he has the outline of his parents' country of origin tattooed on his shoulder blade. GOAL says he did not take off his shirt when celebrating the goal.
Demirbay said: "That changed the dynamic, in the media too. How can a player play for Germany and have a map of another country tattooed on him? After that, I was never called up again."
Demirbay said: "You stop calling me up to the national team just when I'm really breaking through? I was regarded as a foreigner. I would never play for Germany again, even if they called me now."
GOAL's account of what followed
GOAL says Toni Kroos, Ilkay Gündogan, Leon Goretzka and Sami Khedira occupied the central midfield positions for Germany at the 2018 World Cup.
GOAL says Demirbay is now a regular for the Kasimpasa side sitting seventh in the Süper Lig table, and recently registered his first goal involvement of the season in a 4-1 win over Samsunspor.
His 2025 SPOX interview
GOAL says that in an interview with SPOX at the start of 2025, Demirbay said: "I stand by all my decisions. But of course I wished I had played for Germany more often. Now that I know what it is like to play in a Turkish stadium, though, and how much the fans spur you on, I might have decided differently with that experience. The emotions I experience here are different and special in a whole other way."