Mesut Ozil: Fenerbahce has terminated the contract of former Arsenal and Real Madrid midfielder after barely 18 months of service.
Just over a year and a half ago, the World Cup winner left north London and ended his miserable stay at the Premier League club in what was, at the time, a fantasy transfer for everyone.
His tenure with Fenerbahce, however, has not been pleasant at all. In March, the club placed him on an indefinite suspension due to allegations that he was “physically incompetent.”
Only a few days earlier, Ozil had led the club to a 2-1 victory over Konyaspor, who were then in the second position. However, after an altercation with the manager, Ozil was substituted at halftime.
While the former Real Madrid great continued to insist that he was a fan, his time with the club is now finished as he was never seen wearing a shirt following the suspension.
The 33-year-old contract at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium was reportedly canceled by the club on Monday, according to NTVSpor, however, another story claimed it was a mutual decision.
Although the issues first became apparent while the team was under interim management, new manager Jorge Jesus also had no interest in rehiring the German.
“He had his time, his space. He has a beautiful history in Turkey, no one can take it away from him,” the new manager said recently.
“He is a well-known player around the world. But I will follow exactly what was the end of the Ozil era. The most important thing here is Fenerbahce and it is from there that I build my ideas and the players who come to work with me.”
In just 36 games for the team, he scored nine goals and contributed three assists.
At the start of his tenure in the Super Lig, Ozil was still receiving a sizable portion of his salary from Arsenal.
As it stands, since things didn’t work out for him in Turkey just like how he struggled in his last two seasons at Arsenal, Ozil might give up playing football completely.
In June, Dr. Erkut Sogut, Ozil’s agent, indicated that the midfielder will be shifting his focus from football to video games.
“I think he will not play football in any other club any more. I can’t see that – it will be Fenerbahce and that’s it,” the agent said.
“He will go more into esports, play himself and maybe become an esports athlete. He’s really good, to be honest, at Fortnite and I think one day I wouldn’t be surprised if he is competing.”
It’s disappointing to see how things turned out at Arsenal and now Fenerbahce after being a player of the highest caliber and World Cup champion.
Why was Ozil suspended?
Ozil was placed on indefinite leave by Fenerbahce in March, the club announced in a statement. The reason for the suspension was not given, but according to local media, Ozil got into a verbal fight with coach Ismail Kartal.
In January 2021, Ozil left Arsenal for Fenerbahce after being dropped from the London club’s Premier League and Europa League rosters.
After winning the FA Cup in his first season at Arsenal, Ozil was instrumental in helping Arsene Wenger break Arsenal’s trophy drought. However, under Wenger’s successors Unai Emery and Mikel Arteta, Ozil was given less playing time.
What did Mesut Ozil say about his suspension?
After being suspended from his club Fenerbahce due to a dispute with Ismail Kartal, the club’s temporary manager, Mesut Ozil vowed to remain loyal to the club.
He and teammate Ozan Tufan were ‘excluded’ from the squad, according to a statement from Turkish club Fenerbahce on March 24.
The team went on to win 2-1 after Ozil was substituted at halftime of the game against Konyaspor the weekend before.
In response, the former Arsenal midfielder posted a photo of the Fenerbahce and Turkish flags next to each other on social media.
The caption for the image, which supports the team, reads, “The main thing is Fenerbahce.”
What will Ozil do next after leaving the club?
With his current contract at Fenerbahce set to expire, Mesut Ozil intends to give up football and pursue a career as a professional gamer. This may happen sooner than later.
The World Cup champion left Arsenal under Mikel Arteta and joined the Turkish powerhouse in January 2021 after falling out of favor there.
The former playmaker for Real Madrid still has two years left on his contract, but he is already thinking about life beyond football.
Mesut Ozil launched M10 in 2018, and since then it has developed into one of the world’s most reputable teams.
Out of his personal love for gaming and esports, Mesut chose to provide young and passionate gamers with a place to grow into tomorrow’s esport heroes.
Mesut wants to aid elite players and teams while also giving players the chance to benefit from his experience as one of the world’s top professional athletes.
