Mesut Özil’s latest career lifeline is Istanbul Basaksehir after being exiled AGAIN by Fenerbahce… the 33-year-old’s friendship with President Erdogan could be behind his latest move but in the twilight of his playing days he’s running out of roads
- Mesut Ozil has joined Istanbul Basaksehir after getting lost at Fenerbahce
- The 33-year-old last played for Fenerbahce in March before being banned
- The former Germany international is running out of time to take his chances
Another exile was followed by another fresh start for Mesut Özil. He has now signed for Istanbul Basaksehir, 29 minutes after his dismissal was confirmed by Fenerbahce.
The latter club ended Özil’s contract after a four-month exile over a dispute over his fitness. He had been training alone after falling out of favor with interim head coach Ismail Kartal, but new coach Jorge Jesus didn’t offer him a path back to the first-team.
The 33-year-old joined Fenerbahce in January 2021 after leaving them for good arsenal – his last appearance for the Gunners was almost a year earlier, in March 2020. He signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with the Turkey side but took a mega pay cut, comparing that to £60,000 a week to the £350,000 a week Arsenal.
Mesut Özil has another fresh start in Turkey following his move to Istanbul Basaksehir
At 33, Özil needs to make it count after being banned yet again from former club Fenerbahce
Ozil has been let down by Fenerbahce over an ongoing row over the midfielder’s fitness
He left after playing 36 games for Fenerbahce, scoring nine goals and providing three assists. Last month, in a post on Instagram, he slammed “fake news” reports about his future – accompanied by a photo of him stepping out in a Fenerbahce shirt – stressing that he wants to “serve” the Turkey team, although he doesn’t follow them on social media.
“I wanted to make this statement to avoid being publicly discredited and to properly inform our community,” he said.
“First, I prepare myself individually with a special program and patiently wait for my time to meet my childhood sweetheart and get involved.
“I didn’t come to Fenerbahce and my native Turkey for a holiday. Every time I sweat our glorious jersey, I have no purpose other than to contribute. I have many goals that I want to live with Fenerbahçe, my childhood sweetheart. I won’t give up football until I’ve done these things.
“Both I and my club go through a process that is inherent in football. It is my greatest wish to serve my beloved Fenerbahçe by surviving this process as best as possible.
“My request to our fans is that they do not believe the fake news in the media.”
But despite Özil’s protests, he has a new team a month later. Istanbul Basaksehir, the team nicknamed ‘Erdogan FC’ due to their ties to the Turkish President, and Özil’s good friend.
The situation is similar to the end of the former Germany international’s time at Arsenal
Now the 33-year-old is joining a club nicknamed ‘Erdogan FC’ after Turkey’s President Recep (R).
Recep Tayyip’s portrait hangs at the football club’s training ground, and the Basaksehir neighborhood is known as the stronghold of his party.
Özil’s longstanding friendship with controversial President Erdogan remains intact, with the latter being the former’s best man at his wedding in 2019.
His friendship with Erdogan dates back more than a decade and meeting him alongside Ilkay Gündogan and Cenk Tosun ahead of the 2018 World Cup caused quite a stir in Germany due to the President’s policy towards the country.
Basaksehir have a Europa League Conference qualifier on July 21 but it will likely come too soon for Özil, who last played for Fenerbahce in March.
Last month, Özil released an impassioned statement on how he wanted to stay at Fenerbahce
But now the 33-year-old has moved on – his last Fenerbahce appearance was in March
The Turkish season itself kicks off on August 7 and that will likely mark the clean sheet that Ozil will have to recapture in the final years of his career.
“One of the things about life is that it is full of uncertainties. Our plans, wants and desires may not always go in the direction you want them to go. I wanted to succeed by getting more chances to play in the Fenerbahçe shirt, which has always been my childhood dream,” Özil said of his departure.
“I want to thank the Fenerbahçe community and the fans for the great support they have shown me.”
Now his attention is on Basaksehir. He was revealed on Thursday and called his move “a new chapter”. It’s about time Özil counted this one.
