Mesut Ozil’s agent has claimed the former Arsenal midfielder will move into eSports when his playing days end as the Germany midfielder continues to be cast out by Fenerbahce.
The Turkish club removed Ozil from their first-team squad in the spring due to disciplinary reasons – with a return looking unlikely for the 33-year-old.
“He will go more into eSports, play himself and maybe become an eSports athlete,” Dr Erkut Sogut told the Daily Telegraph.
“He’s really good, to be honest, at Fortnite and I think one day I wouldn’t be surprised if he is competing.
“He owns a team – M10 Esports – and he has players. He has a gaming house in Germany. He has football, like FIFA, and Fortnite.”
Back in March, Ozil was excluded from Fenerbahce’s first team after being substituted at half-time in a game at Konyaspor, despite captaining the side and having been one of their key players since moving to Istanbul in January 2021.
Ozil was a vital figure in attack for Ismail Kartal’s side last season, scoring nine goals and registering three assists in all competitions.
The Turkish club’s president, Ali Koc, had announced at the end of last year that Ozil was “unhappy” at the club due to a desire to play more, but revealed that manager Kartal was struggling to get the best out of the midfielder.
“Ozil wants to play more,” Koc said in November. “From now on, he needs to focus on his game and keep his commercial interests out of it. He needs to think about contributing to Fenerbahce.
“Our coach also needs to try to figure out how to get the most out of Ozil. There is not a problem, despite what the media says. Mesut is unhappy because he does not play regularly.”
Why did Ozil leave Arsenal?
The former Germany international left Arsenal under a cloud of controversy last year after the midfielder fell out with Gunners manager Mikel Arteta.
The Spaniard exiled the German, despite him being on a reported £350,000-a-week contract at the Emirates Stadium, for not adhering to the “non-negotiables” that Arteta wanted from his players.
Arteta left Ozil out of his Premier League and Europa League squads at the start of last season, which meant the midfielder did not play a single competitive minute for the Gunners between his final appearance for the club in March 2020 and his departure in January 2021.
During his final season at the Emirates Stadium, Ozil accused Arsenal of not reciprocating his loyalty. He also went against the club’s decision to let the team’s mascot Gunnersaurus go as matches were played behind closed doors – by offering to reimburse the wages of Jerry Quy, the employee who donned the dinosaur suit.
Meanwhile, in 2019, Arsenal distanced themselves from accusations made by Ozil towards China, with the German claiming that the country were persecuting Uighur Muslims.
When Ozil was axed from the Gunners’ first-team squad at the start of the 2020-21 season, the midfielder posted on social media: “I’m really deeply disappointed by the fact that I have not been registered for the Premier League season for the time being.
“Upon signing my new contract in 2018, I pledged my loyalty and allegiance to the club that I love, Arsenal, and it saddens me that this has not been reciprocated.
“As I have just found out, loyalty is hard to come by nowadays. I’ve always tried to remain positive from week to week that there’s maybe a chance to get back in the squad soon again. That’s why I kept silent so far.”
Ozil helped Arsenal to three FA Cups during his time in north London, making over 250 appearances for the Gunners.
The German failed to score in his first half-season at Fenerbahce, but had scored eight league goals for the club this season.