World Cup winner Mesut Ozil announced his retirement
Former German national team star Mesut Ozil has announced his retirement on his personal page, ending a 17-year career full of glory.
“I’m announcing my immediate retirement from professional football. I’ve had the privilege to be a professional football player for almost 17 years now and I feel incredibly thankful for the opportunity,” Ozil said in a statement on his social media accounts on Wednesday.”But in recent weeks and months, I have also suffered some injuries, and it is increasingly clear that it is time to leave the big stage of football.
“I want to thank Schalke, Werder Bremen, Real Madrid, Arsenal, Fenerbahce, and Basaksehir, all my friends in football. It has been a wonderful journey,” said the German midfielder.
In February 2023, Fanatik (Turkey) confirmed that the former Arsenal star informed his teammates after Istanbul Basaksehir’s 0-1 defeat to Kayserispor of his decision to retire from playing soccer. After a month of silence, Ozil officially confirmed the news.
Mesut Ozil grew up in the Schalke 04 training academy and quickly showed off his talents. In 2008, the midfielder moved to Werder Bremen for €4.3 million.
Ozil’s career began to flourish and he was recruited by Real Madrid in the summer of 2010 for €15 million. The German star won enough La Liga, Copa del Rey, and Supercopa de España titles.
In 2013, Ozil joined Arsenal for £42.5 million. At first, Ozil played extremely well in the London club’s jersey. However, in recent seasons, the player has been in decline. He left Arsenal in 2021 after his contract expired, moving to Fenerbahce (Turkey) before retiring at Istanbul Basaksehir.
Ozil has appeared 92 times in 9 years for the German national team. His most notable mark is winning the 2014 World Cup with the “Tank Corps” in Brazil, a tournament in which Germany possessed a golden generation with Lahm, Hummels, Toni Kroos, Muller, Schweinsteiger, Gotze…
During his peak, Ozil was considered one of the world’s leading “number 10” with a series of world-class assists for his teammates to score.
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