Özil leaves Arsenal and joins Fenerbahce - Agent expects decision in “next seven to ten days”

Mesut Özil is one of many well-known players with a contract expiring in 2021, but he might be the only one who earns more than four times his current market value, has not played a competitive match since March and is still in demand. According to information aquired by football.london, D.C. United are interested in signing the Arsenal player. More interesting than the deal from the US was probably an offer from Fenerbahce, however.

Update 1:34pm GMT: Erkut Sogut, the Arsenal player’s agent, commented on the reports, talking to ESPN on Wednesday, again denying an agreement had been reached. “We were not allowed to talk legally before January 1 so now we are just starting to look at the options with the numbers and details I can't talk about the clubs directly because it would be unprofessional but generally, there is six months left on the contract and it is nothing unusual that we will talk to people about different opportunities and try to find the best option for Mesut,” Sogut said, not ruling out either a winter or summer switch.

“He might stay at Arsenal until the summer but he might go. Mesut's priority is to stay but you never know in football, things can change very fast. For the moment, we are just checking all the options for January and the summer.” A decision this week is therefore not expected, he said. “If we want to leave in January, I need to talk to Arsenal. If we sign for the summer, we don't need to. That’s the situation. In the next seven to ten days, it will be a little clearer as now the transfer window is open, things can move faster.”

According to reliable Turkish news agency DHA, the former Germany international has agreed a three-and-a-half year deal with Fener. Özil’s basic salary is said to amount to €5 million net per season – which would make him the Turkish Süper Lig’s top earner alongside Galatasaray striker Falcao. Arsenal will reportedly continue pay Özil’s wages for the rest of the current campaign, while Fener will pay him a €2.5 million signing-on fee ahead of the 2021/22 season.

Gökhan Yagmur, area manager Transfermarkt TR, says: “In order to raise Özil’s salary, two investors have agreed to pay it. In addition, the president of Fener would add something. In Turkey, the gross salary is equal to the net salary for footballers. Currently, an amount of €5 million is reported by Turkish media outlets.”

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