Mesut Özil completes move to 2020 Turkish champion Başakşehir
Turkish German World Cup-winning midfielder Mesut Özil signed for 2020 Turkish champions Başakşehir on Thursday, a day after he left their rivals Fenerbahçe.
“Our club has signed a one-year contract with the option of another year with Mesut Özil,” Başakşehir said in a statement.
Özil, 33, split with Fenerbahçe with two years of his deal still to run.
At Başakşehir he will be reunited with Başakşehir Coach and former teammate Emre Belözoğlu.
Belözoğlu, given his history with the player, reportedly played a key role in convincing Özil to join his side.
Earlier Monday, Özil’s contract with Fenerbahçe was mutually terminated after 18 months of his arrival at the club from Arsenal.
Although brought in with hopes he would transform the struggling club, Özil failed to shine after being sidelined with injuries.
He was later suspended indefinitely from the Fenerbahçe squad after a reported bust-up with the team’s then-head coach Ismail Kartal.
New manager Jorge Jesus made it clear he would not rush to overturn that decision when he took up the post at the beginning of June.
Özil arrived at Fenerbahçe in January 2021 from Arsenal, where he had been excluded from the Gunners’ Premier League and Europa League squads that season. His last game for the London club was March 2020.
Özil joined Arsenal from Real Madrid in 2013 and lifted the FA Cup on three occasions under then-coach Arsene Wenger.
The 2014 Germany World Cup winner of Turkish origins ended his international career after what he described as “racist” attacks following the holders’ first-round exit at the 2018 World Cup.
