Jorge Jesus has confirmed that Mesut Ozil won’t play for the club again following his appointment as the new Fenerbahce manager.
Jesus, 67, referred to ‘the end of the Ozil era’ when speaking to the press for the first time since his appointment, and suggested it was in the best interests of the club for the former Arsenal man not to feature again.
Ozil has not played for the Turkish Super Lig side since March 20 after he was excluded from the squad following a row with interim head coach Ismail Kartal over his fitness.
Kartal did not get the managerial job permanently, but Jesus has pledged to follow in the 60-year-old’s footsteps and keep Ozil away from the starting XI.
‘He had his time, his space,’ Jesus said on Wednesday.
‘He has a beautiful history in Turkey, nobody can take it away from him.
‘He is a well-known player around the world. But I will follow exactly what was the end of the Ozil era.
‘The most important thing here is not the coach Jorge Jesus, the most important thing here is not the player Ozil, the most important thing here is not any player.
‘The most important thing here is Fenerbahce and it is from there that I build my ideas and the players who come to work with me.’
Ozil has made 36 appearances for the Turkish side since joining on a free transfer from Arsenal in January 2021.
The move was billed as a fresh start after a frustrating end to his career in North London, but a disagreement with Kartal seems to have put an end to his time at the club.
Ozil’s agent, Dr Erkut Sogut, told Sportsmail that the 33-year old didn’t want to leave the club.
‘He’s more mature now, more relaxed in that sense,’ said Sogut.
‘He has two more years on his contract, he wants to stay at Fenerbahce, he doesn’t want to go anywhere.
‘He was always on and off [the field at Fenerbahce]. Mesut wants 90 minutes, like any player.
‘The coach didn’t give him that much time, they had an argument and fell out. But he’s professional, he knows what’s happening and he’s not stupid.’
And Jesus isn’t the only one at Fenerbahce to have spoken out against Ozil.
At the end of last season, the club’s president Ali Koc also took aim at the former Germany international.
‘Ozil wants to play more. From now on, he needs to focus on his game and keep his commercial interests out of it,’ he told Fenerbahce TV. ‘He needs to think about contributing to Fenerbahce.’
Ozil joined Fenerbahce in January 2021, after his £350,000-a-week contract at Arsenal was terminated.
The midfielder will now have to win over the new manager or find a new club.