Mesut Özil
German footballer
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| 2025 | Joined the governing Turkish Justice and Development Party as a board member. |
| July 30 2024 | Published an Instagram post featuring a map with 'Israel' crossed out and replaced by 'Palestine', further expressing his stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict. |
| May 31 2024 | Shared an Instagram story with a map showing 'Israel' crossed out and replaced with 'Palestine' after Israeli airstrikes on Rafah, which was interpreted as a statement against the Israeli state. |
| 2023 | Signed with İstanbul Başakşehir and subsequently retired from professional football. |
| October 13 2023 | Özil expressed regret over deaths in Israel and Gaza Strip, and posted 'Free Palestine' on X (formerly Twitter) following the Hamas-led attack on Israel and subsequent Israeli military bombing of Gaza. |
| July 2023 | Özil posted an Instagram photo showing a tattoo featuring symbols associated with the Grey Wolves, a far-right Turkish ultranationalist group, sparking controversy due to the group's reputation for violence and anti-constitutional activities. |
| March 22 2023 | Mesut Özil announced his retirement from professional football, citing recurring injuries after making 427 top-flight appearances in his club career. |
| September 2022 | Welcomed his second daughter, named Ela. |
| August 21 2022 | Özil made his debut for İstanbul Başakşehir in a Süper Lig match against Kayserispor, coming on as a substitute in the 80th minute in a 2-0 victory. |
| July 14 2022 | Mesut Özil signed a one-year contract with İstanbul Başakşehir, with an option for an additional year. |
| July 13 2022 | His contract with Fenerbahçe was mutually terminated after completing his second season with 9 goals and 2 assists in 26 games across all competitions. |
| March 24 2022 | Fenerbahçe announced his exclusion from the squad, along with teammate Ozan Tufan. |
| 2021 | Announced support for Palestine in the Israel-Palestine crisis, wearing a 'Free Palestine' T-shirt with other Fenerbahçe footballers. |
| 2021 | During Ramadan, collaborated with the Turkish Red Crescent to send food packages to people in need across 41 provinces in Turkey. |
| November 21 2021 | Scored an equalizer in the 31st minute against Galatasaray in the Intercontinental Derby, which Fenerbahçe won 2-1 at Nef Stadium. |
| October 2021 | Collaborated with the Football Association (FA) and Football for Peace to launch a development center at the University of Bradford, aimed at increasing opportunities for British Asians in football. |
| September 16 2021 | Scored his first European goal for Fenerbahçe in a UEFA Europa League match against Eintracht Frankfurt. |
| August 15 2021 | Scored his first goal for Fenerbahçe in a 1-0 away victory against Adana Demirspor, also captaining the team for the first time. |
| May 11 2021 | Recorded his first assist for Fenerbahçe in a 2-1 loss against Sivasspor. |
| March 4 2021 | Began an eight-game absence due to ruptured ankle ligaments and COVID-19, missing matches until 29 April. |
| February 2 2021 | Made his Süper Lig debut for Fenerbahçe as a substitute in the 77th minute against Hatayspor in a 2-1 victory. |
| January 27 2021 | Mesut Özil transferred to Turkish club Fenerbahçe as a free agent after terminating his contract with Arsenal, signing a three-and-a-half-year deal reportedly worth £4.5 million per season and receiving a £2.6 million signing-on bonus. |
| 2020 | Offered to reimburse Arsenal for his salary if they would rehire longtime mascot Jerry Quy, whom he was close friends with, after Arsenal made Quy redundant. |
| 2020 | Omitted from Arsenal's 25-man Premier League squad, leaving him eligible only to play for Arsenal's U-23 squad. |
| 2020 | Refused a voluntary 12.5% paycut during the COVID-19 pandemic, citing lack of information from the club about wage usage. |
| 2020 | Transferred to Fenerbahçe in the Süper Lig, continuing his professional journey in Turkish football. |
| October 2020 | Voiced support for Azerbaijan in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, quoting Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and posing with the Azerbaijani flag during his Fenerbahçe player presentation. |
| March 2020 | Confirmed the birth of his first daughter, named Eda. |
| March 7 2020 | Registered his second league assist against West Ham United. |
| February 16 2020 | Özil scored his first goal of the season in a 4-0 victory over Newcastle United. |
| 2019 | Married Amine Gülşe, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as a witness during the ceremony. |
| 2019 | Featured in the 2019 UEFA Europa League Final, which Arsenal lost, reportedly expressing frustration with coach Unai Emery in front of teammates. |
| December 2019 | Özil published an online poem criticizing the treatment of Uyghurs in China, which led to significant backlash from Chinese media and broadcasters. Arsenal distanced itself from his comments, and Chinese media removed his image from broadcasts and video games. |
| September 15 2019 | Mesut Özil made his season debut for Arsenal in a 2-2 draw against Watford, after being given additional time off following an attempted robbery. |
| August 11 2019 | As a result of the security incident, Özil and Kolašinac were not included in Arsenal's Premier League season opener against Newcastle United. |
| July 2019 | Experienced an attempted carjacking with Arsenal teammate Sead Kolašinac, from which they escaped unharmed. |
| June 2019 | After getting married, paid for surgeries for 1,000 children as a celebration. |
| February 27 2019 | Returned to goalscoring form with a goal and an assist in a 5-1 home victory against Bournemouth. |
| 2018 | Retired from international football, citing discrimination and disrespect from the German Football Association and media. |
| 2018 | Reduces national team participation, with 4 appearances and 1 goal in his final year of international play. |
| 2018 | Mesut Özil was selected for Germany's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, playing in two of the team's three matches during their group stage elimination. |
| September 22 2018 | Captained Arsenal for the first time in a 3-1 comeback win over Leicester City, scoring the first goal and providing two assists in a man-of-the-match performance. |
| July 22 2018 | Özil posted detailed messages on social media addressing the photograph with Erdoğan, explaining his perspective and criticizing media treatment of his Turkish background, ultimately announcing his retirement from the German national team as a protest against perceived racism. |
| June 2 2018 | Özil plays in a friendly match against Austria, with Germany losing 1-2 at Wörtherseestadion, Klagenfurt, Austria |
| May 2018 | Mesut Özil, along with İlkay Gündoğan, met with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and posed for photographs, which sparked significant controversy in Germany and raised questions about the players' loyalty to the national team. |
| March 11 2018 | Recorded his 50th Premier League assist in a 3-0 win over Watford, becoming the fastest player to reach this milestone in 141 appearances. |
| February 15 2018 | Scored in the first knockout round of the UEFA Europa League against Östersund. |
| January 2018 | Spanish judiciary had not yet reached a final decision regarding Özil's tax fine at the beginning of the year. |
| January 31 2018 | Re-signed with Arsenal on a three-year contract extension until 2021, with his salary reportedly more than doubling to £350,000 per week, making him the highest-paid player in Arsenal's history. |
| 2017 | Released his autobiography titled 'The Magic of the Game / Gunning for Greatness'. |
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