At Arsenal FC completely on the sidelines, Mesut Özil has long been toying with a move to Turkey. The ex-DFB star also made no secret of his sympathies for Fenerbahce. Now a transfer is apparently imminent.
“We had a meeting with him and his agent,” “Sky” quotes Fenerbahce’s sports director Emre Belözoglu, referring to the Turkish media: “It’s going slowly, but Mesut is closer than ever to Fenerbahce.” It is Özil’s childhood dream to play for the traditional Turkish club.
At the same time, Belözoglu noted any problems in the negotiations: “I would be extremely happy if Fenerbahce could sign such a player, but I don’t think it will be easy. Mesut still has an ongoing contract with his club.” The demoted playmaker has an existing working paper at Arsenal FC until the end of the season.
Is Özil sitting out his Arsenal contract?
A future with the Gunners is out of the question. Team manager Mikel Arteta nominated the German neither for the Premier League nor for the Europa League squad. The 32-year-old has not played a competitive game since March. “Of course he is free to negotiate with other clubs,” said Arteta on last week.
Özil is currently sitting out his contract, earning around 10 million euros every six months – such a salary stands in the way of a possible transfer to Turkey.
“Fenerbahce cannot afford to pay salaries of four to five million euros,” Belözoglu said. The club would not upset the financial equilibrium, which was already broken in the year of the corona pandemic, for a star player. Özil would have to meet his heart club so that a deal moves into the realm of the possible.
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