Motivated for a new task
Former DFB junior Alexander Merkel is leaving Turkey’s Gaziantep FK with immediate effect. The 31-year-old confirmed this to Transfermarkt. “I terminated the contract a little earlier because I hadn’t received a salary for months,” says Merkel. Originally, the working paper would have expired at the end of June.
The club withdrew from the Süper Lig as a result of the earthquake disaster in Turkey and Syria in February, which hit the city of Gaziantep particularly badly. Currently, Gaziantep’s results (and those of Hatayspor, which also no longer participates) are rated 0:3 until the end of the season. “The earthquake and its aftermath came as a great shock to everyone in Turkey. At first we still hoped that we could finish the season in another city. However, when it became clear that nothing would come of it, there was only the possibility of a change within Turkey on loan until the end of the season. As my contract was about to end, that wasn’t possible for me,” explains Merkel. His only option was therefore the termination of the contract. Merkel joined Gaziantep from Saudi Arabia in 2021 and made 44 appearances (four goals/three assists) for the club.
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He continued: “The two years in Turkey will be remembered by me and my family as a very good time and I hope the regions can recover from this disaster as soon as possible and bring joy to the fans again. I will now spend some time with my family and focus on finding a new club. I’m in great shape and I’m dying to get back on the pitch. I’ve really missed that in the last few months.” Merkel, meanwhile, feels ready for a new challenge. There is still no trend as to where he could be drawn.
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