Mesut Ozil has responded to being excluded from Fenerbahce’s squad indefinitely with a cryptic tweet claiming the club is the ‘main thing’.
A similarly cryptic statement on the Turkish giants’ official Twitter account on Thursday confirmed the former Real Madrid and Arsenal star has been excluded from interim boss Ismail Kartal’s squad along with Ozan Tufan, who was on loan at Watford last season.
But Ozil has now broken his silence following the news, posting a picture on Twitter of the flag of Turkey and the club, with the message: ‘The main thing is Fenerbahce.’
Mesut Ozil has broken his silence after being excluded from Fenerbahce’s squad indefinitely
Ozil’s exclusion came after reports of a verbal spat with the club’s interim manager and a lack of fitness in their last game.
‘Our Football A Team players Mesut Ozil and Ozan Tufan were excluded from the squad as per the decision taken. It is announced to the public,’ a statement read.
The club revealed they will make the reason behind the decision public in due course, but Ozil was withdrawn at half-time in Fenerbahce’s 2-1 win against Konyaspor at the weekend.
The 33-year-old former Germany international has made 37 appearances for the Turkish giants since joining from Arsenal in January last year.
But football.london claim the attacking midfielder was involved in a verbal altercation with Kartal in their victory against the second-placed side.
The 33-year-old has made 37 appearances for the Turkish giants since joining from Arsenal
Reports suggest Ozil was involved in a verbal altercation with interim boss Ismail Kartal
Ozil’s public exclusion from the squad prevents him from training with the first team ahead of their away fixture this weekend against 14th-placed Kayserispor, the report adds.
It comes after Ozil – who some reports in Turkey claim has been ‘unhappy’ in the Super Lig since joining – was slammed by Fenerbahce president Ali Koc at the end of 2021.
‘Since the start of this season, Mesut Ozil has been compared to Robin van Persie,’ Koc told Fenerbahce TV via talkSPORT.
‘Ozil wants to play more. 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.’
Moreover, according to Turkish outlet Aksam, Ozil was deemed ‘physically incompetent’ and struggled to keep up with the high intensity level of Sunday’s match.
The club revealed in a statement Ozil and Ozan Tufan (above) had been excluded
Fellow midfielder Mert Hakan Yandas is set to take Ozil’s spot in the starting XI until May
The 92-cap ex-Germany midfielder missed eight Fenerbahce games at the start of this year due to a lower back problem.
However, the report claims the club fear the injury has set Ozil further back physically, and he was replaced after playing at a ‘low tempo’ in the first half, according to Milliyet via Aksam.
The report adds Ozil’s situation was discussed by Kartal’s staff, who came to the decision the remaining weeks of the season would be very difficult for both parties if he continued to play.
They report Kartal has therefore decided to take the No 10 shirt off the star player, agreeing with his staff that Ozil would be unable to cope with higher-tempo fixtures.
Milliyet also state fellow midfielder Mert Hakan Yandas will take Ozil’s spot in the starting XI until the end of the season.
Ozil was also frozen out by Mikel Arteta for the majority of his final year in north London
It is not the first time Ozil will experience being frozen out of the squad, with his Arsenal career coming to a similar end after a falling out with Mikel Arteta.
Ozil – who earned £350,000 per week at Arsenal after signing a new deal in 2018 – was not registered in Arsenal’s Premier League and Europa League squads last season, with reports he never satisfied Arteta’s demands in training.
He therefore did not play for the Gunners again after March 2020, departing the club 10 months later, before accusing the club of not returning the loyalty he had shown them.
Meanwhile, Kartal – who managed Fenerbahce in the 2014-15 season too – returned to the club in January following the sacking of Vitor Pereira in December.
Ozil has scored nine goals this season for Fenerbahce, with eight of them coming in the Turkish Super Lig for the side sat third in the table.
However, he has been ravaged by fitness woes this season, with his back issue being proceeded by an ankle injury and two groin strains in the first half of the campaign.
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