Mesut Ozil insists he wants to ‘contribute’ to Fenerbahce despite his future hanging by a thread after being frozen out by new boss Jorge Jesus – and unfollowing the club on social media.
Ozil’s nightmare in Turkey looks to be drawing to a close after Jesus said the 34-year-old German international would not play for them again.
And adding to the uncertainty around the former Arsenal star, he took the step of clicking unfollow on Fenerbahce’s Twitter and Instagram page – all but confirming his time at the club is over.
Mesut Ozil pledged his commitment to Fenerbahce despite being strongly linked with an exit
Earlier, he unfollowed Fenerbahce on social media as speculation about future ramps up
But the midfielder – a former World Cup winner – has moved to clarify his position, hitting out at ‘fake news’ reports around his future in a post on Instagram – accompanied by a photo of him walking out in a Fenerbahce shirt – and stressing he wants to ‘serve’ the Turkish outfit.
‘I wanted to make this statement in order to prevent the discrediting of myself in the public and to inform our community correctly,’ he said.
‘First of all, I make my preparations individually with a special program, and I patiently wait for my time to come in order to meet my childhood love and contribute.
‘I did not come to Fenerbahce and my homeland Turkey for a holiday. Every time I sweat our glorious jersey, I have no other purpose than to contribute. I have many goals that I would like to live in Fenerbahçe, my childhood love. I will not quit football until I do these things.
‘Both me and my club are going through a process inherent in football. It is my greatest desire to serve my beloved Fenerbahçe by getting through this process in the best way possible.
‘My request to our fans is that they do not give credence to the fake news in the media.’
It came after Jesus’ damning comments made it clear that Ozil had no future.
New Fenerbahce manager Jorge Jesus said Ozil, 34, will not play for the Turkish club again
‘He had his time, his space,’ Jesus said in a press conference. ‘He has a beautiful history in Turkey, no one can take it away from him.
‘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.’
Ozil has not featured for the Turkish Super Lig side since March 20 after he was excluded from the squad following a row with interim head coach Ismail Kartal over his fitness.
Kartal did not get the managerial job permanently, but Jesus has pledged to follow in his footsteps and keep the former Arsenal star, who earns £350,000-a-week at Fenerbahce, away from the starting XI.
Ozil could now be set to swap football for Fortnite, according to his agent Dr Erkut Sogut
Sogut said his client was a keen FIFA and Fortnite player and said he ‘wouldn’t be surprised’ if the midfielder become a professional gamer
Ozil’s turmoil in Turkey has forced him to look at the next steps in his career – and his agent Dr Erkut Sogut has revealed he could swap football for Fortnite.
‘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.
‘He owns a team – M10 Esports – and he has players. He has a gaming house in Germany. He has football, like FIFA, and Fortnite. If you liked this article and you would like to get additional data relating to dewaslot login kindly visit our own web-page. ‘
Sogut’s comments are perhaps not a surprise given Ozil’s love of gaming. In 2018, then Arsenal manager Unai Emery was forced to deny playing video games was behind a back injury the German had suffered.
Ozil has endured a difficult period since leaving Arsenal in January 2021 and Sogut believes the club could have handled his exit better.
Ozil has made 36 appearances for the club and scored nine goals, often captaining the side
He likes to unwind by playing video games and his representative says it’s a viable pathway
In the lead-up to Ozil’s departure, the player criticised China for its mistreatment of Uighur Muslims, while he himself came under fire for posing for a photo with Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
‘They were a club that was always neutral in terms of political things but they are not neutral any more, right? They gave it up,’ he added.
‘They can’t just stay neutral in certain situations. Now they have spoken up with Ukraine. They are now taking a position as a club.
‘Now they’re outspoken about issues in the world which when it was Mesut they said: ‘We don’t want to discuss things like that’.
‘But it was a development I think for them as well as a club that things are changing and they have to adapt as well.’