Mesut Özil announces his retirement from professional football

Biography

Mesut Özil (Turkish pronunciation: [meˈsut œˈzil], pronounced in German: [ˈmeːzut ˈøːzil]), born October 15, 1988 in Gelsenkirchen, West Germany, is a German international footballer of Turkish descent. Trained at Schalke 04, he has been playing since July 2022 as an attacking midfielder. 

He comes from a family originally from Zonguldak in Turkey.. He no longer has Turkish nationality, which he gave up in 2007 in favor of German nationality.. His father has lived in Germany since the age of two and has the German nationality.. 

His idol is Zinedine Zidane: “When I was a child, he was my role model. I admired his “tricks” on television and then tried to reproduce them on the playground. Being compared to him flatters me. »

Career

He is one of the most outstanding playmakers of the last decade who hangs up his boots. Mesut Özil, 34 today, announced that he was ending his football career on his social networks this Wednesday. The German international (92 caps, 23 goals) has been playing for Istanbul Başakşehir since this season, with whom he played only 187 minutes. 

Trained in Germany, Özil studied at Schalke 04 then at Werder Bremen before taking the plunge. Between 2010 and 2013, he played 159 matches with Real Madrid and notably won the Championship in 2012. 

Recruited by Real Madrid in 2010 from Werder Bremen, following his World Cup with Germany, the designer will have won a King's Cup in 2011, or even a La Liga in 2012, a season during which he finished top passer in the championship with 17 offerings. Two years later, the native of Gelsenkirchen was propelled to the roof of the world by winning the World Cup with Germany. 

Weighed down by injuries, the elegant left-hander returned to the field on January 18. At the beginning of February, he was established during his club's defeat against Kayserispor (1-0), before giving up his place at the break. He had not played a single minute before formalizing his retirement on Wednesday., Can we read on the player's social networks. 

One of the rare downsides of this period? His departure in the summer of 2013 for Arsenal, which he would certainly postpone for a year today, given that Real Madrid won the Champions League that season: one of the few trophies missing from his list XXL. But at the Gunners, he will have been able to adapt in the blink of an eye, establishing himself as one of the very best creators and passers in the Premier League, as evidenced by his 2015/2016 season completed as the best passer in the championship. , with 19 offerings. A performance that had not been observed since Thierry Henry in 2003 (20 assists and joint record holder to date over a season, with Kevin de Bruyne). No major trophy won with Arsenal, but still 4 FA CUP. Second place in the Premier League in the 2015/2016 season will certainly remain the German's great regret at Arsenal. 

His retirement from the national team

He retired from the national team in 2018 amid a political debate in Germany over an influx of migrants and refugees and after a backlash over a photo taken with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, saying he faced to "racism and lack of respect" for hisTurkish ancestry!! 

The long crossing of the desert of Mesut Özil will have its source during the 2017/2018 season, when the German appeared much less efficient, like his failed 2018 World Cup with Germany. In the process, Özil also announced his international retirement, citing having been the victim of racist behavior because of his Turkish origins. Comments refuted by Manuel Neuer and which will have caused a lot of ink to flow in the country, as when he took a picture with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan the same year. Finally, two more seasons with the Gunners will follow - which we will modestly qualify as contrasting - before committing in 2020 to Fenerbahçe, in Turkey, his country of origin. 

A checkered passage marked by a first season weighed down by injuries, and punctuated by only 11 small matches. During the second, the left-hander will have managed to regain color in bits and pieces, notably scoring 8 goals in the Süper Lig. But Mesut Özil's descent into hell materialized well this season, when he arrived free in Başakşehir. In total, the irresistible left-hander will have played 737 games during his career, scoring 137 goals and providing 246 assists. 

Ozil's message on his media

“After careful consideration, I have made the decision to retire from football. I had the privilege of being a professional player for 17 years and I will be forever grateful. But in the last weeks and months, I have picked up a lot of injuries, so it became clear to me that I had to quit football. It was an unforgettable and emotional experience and I want to thank all the clubs and coaches I worked with. (…) Thank you to all my fans who showed me unfailing support regardless of the circumstances and the club I represented. "