After leaving Arsenal on a sour note after Mikel Arteta effectively froze him out of the squad, Mesut Ozil had hoped that a move to Fenerbahce would be just the tonic to revive his career.
However, things haven't gone as smoothly for the 33-year-old as he would have liked. So far, Ozil, who was signed on a free transfer in January 2021, has made just 37 appearances for Fenerbahce, scoring nine goals in the process. Far from being what he had hoped would be a dream playing for the club he supported as a youngster, it has turned out to be a huge disappointment for the player, for the club, and for their supporters.
Ozil's time in Turkey has been marred by injuries, as well as COVID-19, which caused him to miss significant game-time in his first season. Although he's been somewhat healthier this season, during which all of his nine goals have taken place, his fitness issues have not fully abated, as he recently missed nearly two months of action due to a recent back injury.
Recent rumors have claimed that Ozil's absences are not entirely due to injury, with the club forced to shoot down reports that the 2014 World Cup winner was refusing to play due to not being paid on time.
Still, the fact that new reports have come out that he's been frozen out of the squad means that there's something else going on behind the scenes besides the club being concerned about his frequent injuries. Fenerbahce aren't in action until April 2nd, yet he has already been removed from the first team and it will be interesting to see if he will make any other competitive appearances for his current club before the current Super Lig campaign comes to a close.
