Frankfurt/Main (dpa) – National coach Hansi Flick regrets the development of Mesut Özil and the suspension of the former world champion at Fenerbahce Istanbul.
He just thinks it’s “sad because Mesut was one of the outstanding players when I first started with the national team,” said Flick in Frankfurt/Main. “It’s actually a shame how the development has taken place now.” Flick was assistant to national coach Joachim Löw when they won the World Cup together in 2014, and he currently has no contact with Özil.
The top Turkish club announced on Thursday that it would exclude the 33-year-old captain from the squad. When he arrived in January 2021, Özil was greeted euphorically by Fenerbahce fans. He had previously terminated his contract with Arsenal FC in London. Before the preliminary round at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Özil was criticized for his photos with the Turkish head of state Recep Tayyip Erdogan. After the tournament, he resigned from the German national team and criticized the way he was treated.
He found out about the suspension at Fenerbahce from a mutual friend, reported Özil’s former teammate Ilkay Gündogan. “I haven’t had any contact with Mesut for several weeks, months.” He follows the Turkish league, but cannot say anything about the details.