ISTANBUL (Turkey): Former German international Mesut Ozil has joined Fenerbahce from Arsenal on a three-and-a-half year deal after last playing for the Gunners in March.
The 32-year-old was omitted from Arsenal’s Premier League and Europa League squads this season and his reported deal on a weekly salary of £350,000 ($475,000) was set to expire at the end of the current camapaign.
“I’d like to thank the club for this amazing journey over the past seven-and-a-half years,” Ozil, who won the World Cup with Germany in 2014, said in a statement.
“Together we won trophies for the first time in years and created memories that will last a lifetime,” he added.
Ozil, who is of Turkish origin, was heavily criticised in Germany for posing for a photograph with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2018.
Erdogan was also the best man at the player’s wedding in Turkey.
Ozil ended his international career after what he described “racist” attacks following the holders’ first-round exit at the 2018 World Cup.
Fenerbahce, one of Istanbul’s three big clubs, are currently third in the league behind Besiktas.
