After a distinguished international career with Germany and club stints with Real Madrid and Arsenal, World Cup champion Mesut Ozil announced his retirement from football on Wednesday.
The 34-year-old was instrumental in Germany’s victory in Brazil in 2014, but he angrily left the international stage after the Germans were eliminated from the 2018 competition in Russia.
The attacking midfielder declared, “After careful thinking, I’m declaring my immediate retirement from professional football.”
“It’s been about 17 years since I first had the honour of representing my country in football, and I’m tremendously grateful for the chance.
But in recent weeks and months, after experiencing several injuries as well, it has become increasingly obvious that it is time to leave the major stage of football.
Ozil, a Turkish-born German who was born in Gelsenkirchen, played on some of football’s greatest platforms but also got caught up in international politics and racial charges.
Immediately after Germany was eliminated from the 2018 World Cup in the group stage, a hurt Ozil accused the German people of “racist” attacks.
His club career took off when, in 2010, he was transferred from the Bundesliga to Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid squad because to his quick passing and vision.
He quickly took the assist lead in La Liga, aiding the Spanish team achieve their 32nd league championship in 2012.
His expensive transfer to Arsenal in 2013 enabled the London team to overcome their FA Cup drought that year.
As Germany defeated Lionel Messi’s Argentina 1-0 in the 2014 World Cup final at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro, Ozil began the match.
The final years of Ozil’s career were marred by disagreements about playing time and his strong personal affinity with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, despite the fact that he was frequently shortlisted for the Ballon d’Or.
Erdogan served as best man during Ozil’s 2019 Istanbul wedding to actress and former Miss Turkey Amine.
Yet, the World Cup issue that summer was mostly sparked by Ozil’s choice to pose with Erdogan on the day of Turkey’s 2018 presidential election.
After a botched coup attempt against his administration, Erdogan subsequently launched a broad political purge.
Ozil’s photo with Erdogan was generally regarded as an endorsement of Erdogan during the 2018 election season.
His international career came to an end before he joined Fenerbahce and most recently Istanbul Basaksehir.
