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UPDATE 1-Soccer-Fenerbahce confirm move for Arsenal midfielder Ozil

18 Jan 2021 / 03:46 H.

    (Adds Fenerbahce statement, details)

    ANKARA, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Fenerbahce are signing 32-year-old German midfielder Mesut Ozil, who is set to end his eight-year spell at Premier League side Arsenal, the Turkish club announced on Sunday.

    Ozil earlier said he was "very excited" to play for the former Turkish champions and that he was fit despite missing nearly a year of football.

    He has not played for Arsenal since March and was left out of their Premier League and Europa League squads this season.

    Ozil has long been linked with a move to Fenerbahce, Turkey's second most decorated club, who said in a statement https://twitter.com/Fenerbahce/status/1350881001069809665 on Sunday: "Our club is bringing Mesut Ozil to Istanbul to continue the transfer processes."

    Speaking to Turkish broadcaster NTV, Ozil, who has Turkish ancestry, said he was looking forward to playing for Fenerbahce , a club he said he has supported all his life, adding he would arrive in Istanbul early on Monday to seal his move.

    "I am a Fenerbahce fan. That is why I am very happy to be coming to Turkey with Fenerbahce," he said.

    "I'm very excited. God gave me the chance to wear this jersey as a Fenerbahce fan. God willing, I will carry it with honour and do everything I can for the team," he added.

    "Of course, I'm missing a few matches. I haven't played in a match in a while, but I am physically fit, I have no issues," he said, adding that he had been training with the first team at Arsenal during his time off the pitch.

    Ozil also posted an image on Twitter https://twitter.com/MesutOzil1088/status/1350883164554719233 which showed his family seated inside a private jet with Fenerbahce flags in the background.

    Arsenal have yet announce his departure but British media reported on Saturday that they had reached an agreement in principle to terminate the World Cup-winner's contract.

    Signed in 2013 for a then-club record fee of about 42 million pounds ($57 million) from Real Madrid, Ozil played a crucial role under Arsene Wenger in ending Arsenal's trophy drought, winning the FA Cup in his first season.

    But he was marginalised under Wenger's replacement Unai Emery and by current manager Mikel Arteta, who said the player's omission from the squad was for "football reasons". (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu, additional reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; editing by Ed Osmond and Ken Ferris)

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