Mesut Ozil is set to join Fenerbahce this month after being frozen out by Mikel Arteta, but he could join them permanently this winter by agreeing to terminate his deal
The details of Mesut Ozil’s contract termination at Arsenal have been revealed as the German edges closer to a move away from the club.
Ozil is believed to be on the cusp of a move to Fenerbahce after the door was closed to a return to first team action at Arsenal.
It was initially thought that he would join the Super Lig side on loan for the rest of the season, with the Gunners picking up his £350,000-a-week wages, before his contract expires at the end of this campaign when he would make the move permanent.
However, Ozil may be free to make the move long-term this month as Arsenal are planning on terminating his contract if an agreement can be met.
Turkish reporter Yagiz Sabuncuoglu claims that the Germany international could receive more than £7m as part of the agreement.
One drawback for Ozil is that he is in line to receive a loyalty bonus if he sees out the duration of his contract, a waiver he would of course have to ditch by leaving this winter.
Negotiations are set to resume on Saturday in order to thrash out the deal to allow Ozil to leave north London.
Arteta appeared to admit that Ozil had played his last game for the club while insisting his legacy was not tarnished by the ordeal this season.
“What Mesut has done at the football club is unquestionable and that will stay,” said the Spaniard. “It doesn’t matter if he plays two more games, 10 more games or none.
“I think what he has done is there for the records, the history of the club and his contribution, nobody can discuss that.”
Ozil’s imminent departure comes as Arteta aims to trim his squad for the second half of the season, with William Saliba already leaving on loan to Ligue 1 club Nice.
Sead Kolasinac has also departed on loan for Bundesliga side Schalke 04, but Arteta admits transfer dealings have been made even more difficult by the current coronavirus circumstances.
He added: “At the moment, the market is really complicated. The situation around every club is not easy and to get the negotiations going as well is harder because you cannot be face to face.
“You cannot travel to another country and make a deal happen like that. Everything has to be through the phone or Zoom. It can go either way to be fair.
“I can tell you what I would like, which is on day one to have the squad like I want and the players out and in sorted, but I think it is really complicated right now.”
Mirror
