Jerome Boateng has said he was disappointed by his Germany teammates' reaction to Mesut Ozil's withdrawal from international football.
In the wake of the controversy surrounding a photo taken with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan in May, Ozil retired from international football following the World Cup and cited racism at the top of the German FA and in parts of German society.
While criticism of Ozil's attacks on the German FA was strong by his old teammates, only a handful of players including Boateng thanked him for his services for the Germany team.
"Where were the teammates who thanked Mesut? Apparently, they did not dare to make any comments because they thought it would not go down well with the Germany fans," Boateng, himself a target of racist insults in 2016, told Suddeutsche Zeitung.
He added he felt there was a lack of respect towards Ozil's achievements for Germany, which, according to the Berlin-born player, cannot be reduced to his contribution to the sporting success.
"It's not about that photo. It's about a great player who has won the World Cup with us," Boateng said. "Who has won a lot of caps, who changed German football a bit. A No. 10 with a migratory background.
"You must thank him. To abstain, I think that's sad!"
The photo showing Ozil and teammate Ilkay Gundogan was published only hours before the announcement of Germany's preliminary World Cup squad.
Both players were selected by Bundestrainer Joachim Low, and, following a meeting with German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German FA hoped to end the discussions, but to no avail.
"It was an annoying issue which caused a lot of unrest," Boateng said. "At first, everyone underestimated it and then we took it to the World Cup. It was a burden for everyone, also for the two players."
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Ozil's agent Erkut Sogut hit out at Germany internationals Manuel Neuer, Thomas Muller and Toni Kroos, calling their response to the Arsenal star's withdrawal from the national team "either naive or scheming."