Mesut Ozil is set to sign for controversial Turkish Super Lig side Istanbul Basaksehir after having his contract with Fenerbahce terminated in what has been a turbulent few months for the former Arsenal star.
According to Sport1, the former Germany international will is set to join the controversial Turkish side in the coming days after Ozil’s exit from Fenerbahce was confirmed, with the playmaker effectively being sacked by the club after falling out with then-manager Ismail Kartal.
As a result, Ozil has since left his boyhood club and is now set to sign for Basaksehir, who are the team of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and have in recent years received funding from the government to controversially rise up the ranks, coming to an apex in 2020 when they won the league title and beat Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League.
Indeed, Ozil’s decision to sign for Basaksehir is perhaps not surprising, but it only adds to the controversy surrounding the former Arsenal man, who left north London in 2021 without playing a single second of the 2020/21 season as Mikel Arteta froze the midfielder from the squad.
Despite initially impressing at Fenerbahce, things quickly turned sour for Ozil after a falling out with both Kartal and the club president Ali Koc, resulting in his contract being ripped up and opening the door for the 33-year-old to sign for Basaksehir.
Ozil signing for Basaksehir could be his most controversial move yet
State-funded football clubs are hardly anything new, yet for Basaksehir, the impact President Erdogan has had on the team is on par with the likes of PSG or Manchester City, with Turkey’s elected leader taking an obscure club and catapulting them into the stratosphere, with Ozil set to become the side’s next big signing.
Indeed, Basaksehir have made some big moves in the past such as Martin Skrtel, Robinho and Demba Ba, yet Ozil is on another level of obscure when it comes to the Istanbul side, and the German moving to the club could be his most controversial career decision yet.
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