Mesut Ozil is in trouble at Fenerbahce. The Turkish club has decided to exclude him from the club’s squad less than two weeks after scoring a goal in the club’s 5-2 away win over Alanyaspor.
In a statement the Turkish club issued earlier today, March 24, 2022, the club announced that Mesut Ozil and Ozan Tufan have been excluded from the club’s senior squad.
However, Fenerbahce did not specify why the 33-year-old German attacking midfielder was excluded from the club. The club did not also reveal how long the midfielder would stay away from the team.
This means that Mesut Ozil and Ozan Tufan are no longer permitted to train with the club’s senior team until further notice. It also means that the two players will not play against Kayserispor on April 2, 2022.
A statement from Fenerbahce read: “Our Football A-Team players Mesut Ozil and Ozan Tufan have been excluded from the squad as per the decision taken. It is announced to the public.”
Why does Fenerbahce exclude Mesut Ozil from the club’s squad?
In recent times, reports in Turkish media have been speculating that Mesut Ozil who retired from international football after Germany crashed out of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, is not happy at Fenerbahce. Though he is already 33-year-old, the former Real Madrid and Arsenal star wants to play more regularly.
Immediately after he returned from a 6-week long injury spell, Ozil still wanted to play more regularly. Unfortunately for him, Fenerbahce’s interim manager Ismail Kartal does not want to give him such a space.
In December 2021, Fenerbahce president Ali Koc urged Ozil via an interview to concentrate on his game and keep his commercial interest aside. The president also urged the club’s coach to figure out how to get the best out of the footballer.
“Since the start of this season, Mesut Ozil has been compared to Robin van Persie,” the president told Fenerbahce TV. “Ozil wants to play more. From now on, he needs to focus on his game and keep his commercial interests out of it. He needs to think about contributing to Fenerbahce.
“Our coach also needs to try to figure out how to get the most out of Ozil. There is not a problem, despite what the media says. Mesut is unhappy because he does not play regularly.”
Despite the warning from the president, Ozil continued to agitate against his irregular playing time.
On March 20, 2022, Ozil reportedly had a confrontation with interim manager Ismail Kartal after the coach substituted him in the club’s 2-1 win over Konyaspor. The altercation reportedly contributed to his exclusion from the club’s squad.
Arsenal’s saga is revisiting Ozil
Recall that Mesut Ozil who joined Arsenal from Real Madrid on September 2, 2013, for a transfer fee worth €47 million, began to have trouble with the Premier League club after he started involving himself in political matters.
Ozil who used to earn around £350,000 per week at Arsenal started losing his place at the club immediately coach Mikel Arteta began his reign at the North London side in 2019.
It got so bad for the German midfielder that he was excluded from Arsenal’s squad and was not allowed to train with the club until he agreed to terminate his contract.
After a series of back and forth, Mesut Ozil agreed to join Fenerbahce on a free transfer. Reports claim that Fenerbahce are paying him £46,000-per-week.
With 14 months left on his current contract with Fenerbahce, the drama Ozil faced at Arsenal is resurfacing again and it might end his stay at the Turkish side prematurely if it is not well managed.
So far this season, Ozil has played 26 games in all competitions in which he scored 9 goals and provided two assists for Fenerbahce.
Mesut Ozil, one of the best playmaking in history! pic.twitter.com/hMfWTuvcAN
— ً (@LSComps) January 2, 2022
