Agency Report –
Former Werder Bremen players Mesut Özil and Tim Wiese have not been invited to former team mate Diego’s farewell match because they no longer identify with the club, the Bild newspaper reported on Saturday.
Brazilian playmaker Diego was a fan favourite at Bremen between 2006 and 2009, winning the German Cup with the club in his last season alongside Germany’s Özil and Wiese.
But the pair will be absent from a special game in Bremen celebrating Diego’s career next Saturday. The 40-year-old retired two years ago.
“Together with Diego, we have agreed not to include Mesut on the guest list, as he has recently gone in a way that does not fit in with Werder Bremen’s values,” a club spokesman told Bild.
Regarding Wiese, the spokesman added: “We have not invited Tim Wiese to Diego’s farewell match and we have communicated this to Diego. Tim also publicly communicated some time ago that he no longer wanted anything to do with Werder.”
Özil, 36, has made no secret of his support for hard-line Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He also posted a map of Israel on Instagram last year and the name of the country was crossed out and the word ‘Palestine’ was written underneath instead.
Wiese, who became a wrestler after football, has been in dispute with Bremen for some time. The club even imposed a stadium ban on the 43-year-old, which ended in 2023.
