Mesut Ozil and Arsenal contract saga is not looking good and it seems it might get uglier before the commencement of the January 2021 transfer window.
Ozil is still battling to remain at Arsenal until his current contract with the club expires on 30 June 2021. On the other hand, Arsenal doesn’t want to wait that long for the exit of the 31-year-old German midfielder. They want him out as soon as they can reach an agreement with him.
Mesut Ozil is currently the highest-paid player at Arsenal. His current wage bill is £350,000-per-week which is already choking the club. Hence, the latest updates from the north London club claimed that Arsenal has re-opened talks with Ozil in an attempt to convince the German footballer to take a walk before January.
Reports claimed that the talks have not been going as Arsenal would have wanted. Ozil who seemed unwilling to leave Arsenal anytime soon despite not playing in Mikel Arteta’s squad, wants the club to pay him £13 million if the club wants him to leave before June 2021.
The £13 million will be the exact balance on Ozil’s contract if he should leave Arsenal 9 months to the expiration of his contract with the club. But Arsenal seemed unwilling to part with such a huge sum of money at the time the club is trying to cut cost amid the coronavirus pandemic that has affected revenues of football clubs across Europe.
Recall that Arsenal has been laying off non-playing staff at the club and sending out players who are surplus to the club’s requirement on loan. Hence, a player like Ozil who has not been part of Arteta’s plans since the return of football in the Premier League in June is not expected to continue earning so much without playing.
However, as far as Ozil’s contract with Arsenal is still active, he still has the legal right to remain at the club until June 2021. The only option Arsenal has is to continue to dialogue with him until both parties agree on a settlement plan.
Until then, Ozil is still a bonafide member of the Arsenal football club even though Mikel Arteta did not include his name on the list of players he submitted to UEFA ahead of the club’s Europa League campaign for this season.
The 31-year-old midfielder has not also played any match since the commencement of the 2020-2021 Premier League season and he is not likely to as there are speculations suggesting that his name might not be included in Arsenal’s 25-man list for this season’s Premier League campaign.
In whichever way Mesut Ozil and Arsenal contract saga ends, the German midfielder might find it almost impossible to walk into another big club in Europe but he might get a huge sum of money from Arsenal if the club successfully terminates his contract before June 2021.
