Mesut Ozil accused of cheating on girlfriend Mandy Capristo with Melanie Rickinger by ex-Bayern Munich player Christian Lell

• Mesut Ozil dragged into a public row after being accused of cheating
• Ex-Bayern Munich star Christian Lell accused Arsenal midfielder Ozil of 'muscling in' on his relationship with former girlfriend Melanie Rickinger
• Lell claims Ozil has been cheating on pop star girlfriend Mandy Capristo 
• Rickinger says former boyfriend Lell is 'crazy' but has not denied affair  

By Kit Holden for MailOnline

Published: 09:44 EST, 15 October 2014 | Updated: 12:32 EST, 15 October 2014

Arsenal star Mesut Ozil has been dragged into a public row with a fellow German footballer and accused of cheating on his pop star girlfriend Mandy Capristo.

Former Bayern Munich and Hertha Berlin player Christian Lell accused Ozil of 'muscling in' on his relationship with former girlfriend Melanie Rickinger.

In an interview with Bild, Lell somewhat ungraciously described his ex as a 'snake' and explained that she had exchanged intimate messages with Ozil on the messaging service WhatsApp.

Mesut Ozil has been accused of cheating on girlfriend Mandy Capristo by ex-Bayern player Christian Lell

Ozil and his girlfriend Capristo leave Zuma Restaurant in London in October 2013

Capristo is Ozil's girlfriend but he has been accused of cheating on her by German Lell

Lell, with Melanie Rickinger during a restaurant opening in Munich in September, has accused Ozil

'Mesut exploited his fame, and muscled in on our relationship,' said Lell. 'That isn't OK'.

Ozil himself has refused to comment on the situation. 

'We are not commenting on this. We will keep an eye on the situation, and take legal action if necessary,' said his agent Roland Eitel. 

Lell's ex-girlfriend Rickinger has said her former boyfriend is 'crazy'. She has not denied the accusations of an affair with Ozil, but did insist that Lell had accessed her messages without her permission.

'I deleted everything on my phone. He must have gone on himself and backed everything up,' she said. 'He's completely crazy.'

Capristo, on Instagram, shows off her abs as she poses with her dog and in another pic with a CD

Ozil, in action for Arsenal against Chelsea earlier this month, is accused of having an affair

Ozil has been accused of cheating on his girlfriend Capristo (pictured) with Rickinger

Lell, (right) celebrating with his Hertha Berlin team-mates in 2011, used to play for Bayern Munich

Capristo has also refused to comment. The singer lives with the Germany international in London, and is a judge on the X Factor-style reality show 'Germany's Search for a Superstar'.

Capristo is about to release a new album, and has previously insisted that she does not accept the idea of being merely a WAG.

She said: 'You'd never say to the partner of a tennis player that they're only this or that, that's a lack of respect. So when people say I'm just a WAG, I don't care. I have too much respect for myself and my own work to even bother thinking about these people.'

Like our Arsenal Facebook page. 

Ozil talks to Capristo after Germany's World Cup final victory over Argentina in Brazil earlier this summer

Capristo is a judge on German X Factor-style show 'Germany's Search for a Superstar'

VIDEO Ozil plays down Bayern link