Since the end of March, Mesut Özil has been waiting for a call-up to Fenerbahce. However, the former international is not thinking of leaving Istanbul prematurely. On the contrary, he wants to fulfil his contract and finish his career in Turkey.
“If I move to Turkey, only Fenerbahce will be considered,” Özil said a year and a half ago, before signing a contract with the 19-time Turkish champions in the winter of 2021 until 2024. The 33-year-old’s attitude has not changed since then, as Mesut Özil underlined via Twitter today – even though he has been waiting for a call-up for “Fener” for two months now. Özil and team-mate Ozan Tufan were dropped from the squad at the end of March and have not returned since.
Speculation about move to USA
Lastly, there had been speculation that the midfielder could be eyeing a move to the USA. “I repeat emphatically: I will not finish my career in any team other than Fenerbahce. For the duration of my contract, my only goal is to sweat into the jersey with the stripes,” Özil wrote on the social media platform. There had already been rumblings between Özil and his employer for the first time in November last year. After Fenerbahce won only one point from four games and lost the lead in the table, President Koc urged him to concentrate on his work.
Özil then played 13 more matches in the Turkish SüperLig before being suspended on 23 March. With eight matchdays to go, Fenerbahce were in third place, two points behind qualification for the Champions League. The club secured that in the season’s final spurt – without Özil and Tufan.
Özil announced that he would work hard to return to the squad in the future. He will “always be ready, as I always say: the main thing is Fenerbahce”. Words already familiar from Özil’s messy departure from Arsenal.
