Mesut Ozil's 'affair' row continues as model sues ex-boyfriend 'for leaking flirty messages'

London, England: A glamour model is to sue her ex after he reportedly leaked flirty text messages between her and Arsenal star Mesut Ozil onto the internet.

Melanie Rickinger is launching a legal action against former Bayern Munich player Christian Lell, and wants damages for "theft of data", according to German newspaper Bild.

In October, Lell accused Ozil of having an affair with Rickinger - whom he branded a "groupie" - while he was still in a relationship with her.

Ozil, 26, split with his girlfriend Mandy Capristo, 24, after the messages were published.

Attorney General Thomas Steinkraus-Koch confirmed the legal complaint had been lodged.

The Arsenal superstar, who is currently enduring a prolonged spell on the sidelines, threatened legal action towards German newspaper Bild, who published the text messages.

Lell, 30, had claimed that his break-up with Rickinger was partly as a result of what Ozil had been doing.

He told Bild: “Mesut exploited his fame, and muscled in on our relationship. That isn’t OK.”

Ozil’s girlfriend Capristo moved with him to London in September 2013 when he signed for Arsenal in a club record £42.5million deal.

But the singer has now deleted all photographs of him from her Facebook and Instagram accounts.

Ozil refused to make a statement on the allegations about his love life last October.

His agent Roland Eitel said at the time: “We are not commenting on this.

“We will keep an eye on the situation, and take legal action if necessary.”