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Mesut_Özil_2015 photo by Anish Morarji-

Top 10 Interesting Facts about Mesut Ozil

Mesut Ozil is a German professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder and is the Turkish Super Liga Club captain.

He is famous for his technical skills, vision, creativity, and as well as his superb passing skills.

He was born and raised in Gelsenkirchen and began his career playing for his hometown club Schalke 04, before signing with Werder Bremen in 2008, just aged 19. 

He won the DFB Pokal in his first season, led the Real Madrid club to take victory in the La Liga title, and ranked first in league assist for three straight seasons.

Here are the top 10 Interesting Facts about Mesut Ozil.

1. He has a Turkish lineage but is a German citizen

Mesut Özil playing for Arsenal photo by Ronnie Macdonald-

Mesut Ozil was born on October 15^th in 1988 to Mustafa Ozil and Guliza Ozil, and was born in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.

He is from a Turkish family and his first language is Turkish, and is the third generation of his family to be born in Germany.

His name Ozil is a Turkish surname constructed by fusing the Turkish words Oz, meaning self, and Li meaning city or province. He was schooled in a Turkish preschool; like many Turkish, he is Muslim.

The middle fielder surrounded his Turkish passport at the country consulate in 2007 to play for Germany’s national team, as the country forbids dual citizenship.

2. He has played for Werder Bremen

Ozil signed a contract with Werder Bremen for a fee of €5 million and began working for the club till 30^th June 2011.

In his first Bundesliga, he scored a goal putting his team up 2-1 in the 33^rd minute against Karlsruher SC.

He played twelve games in the Bundesliga throughout the 2^nd half of the season, and six times he played in the starting formation.

He made a significant contribution in most games and emerged with three goals and 15 assists leading the Northern German club to the 2009 DFB-Pokal winning a 1-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen in Berlin.

3. He was carjacked

Ozil had a terrifying ordeal when two armed and masked men attacked him and his teammate, Sead Kolasinae. The two masked men had roof tiles in their hands and were covered in all black to attack Ozil and Sead.

The club received the security tapes and hired investigators to find the Carjackers. The police arrested two other men outside of Mesut’s house and were charged with public order offenses.

The ordeal made both Ozil and his teammate miss the first game of the Premier League, an offense against New Castle United.

Ashely Smith 30, and his accomplice Jordan 26, pleaded guilty to the attempted robbery.

4. He has a complicated dating history

Ozil is revered by many for his talents in football and is viewed as a perfect figure, interestingly his dating life has faced trials just like any other.

In the year 2013, he started dating Mandy Capristo and the relationship ended after a year, only to get back together later. Ozil even posted on his Instagram, a photo of them attending the Bambi award ceremony.

He was dumped by Mandy, she accused him of infidelity, a common theme familiar to his former ex-lovers.

He dated and later married Amine Gulse, a Turkish _Swedish actress. They got married in 2019, his wedding was a big event and news in Turkey and even president Erdogan was invited. They had their first child Eda, a daughter a year after the wedding.

5. He has been a philanthropist

When Ozil won the 2014 FIFA world cup he donated his winnings which were £240,000 to the Brazilian Children for their medical surgery, which he named as a tribute to the hospitality of the Brazilian people. He has also visited the Zaatari refugee camp, of about 80,000 people.

He has also worked with My shining star charity to help children with cancer dreams come true. He even invited Charlie, a child with cancer to be a guest in his private box and the player lounge during a game at Emirates stadium.

In 2021, Ramadhan Ozil sent food packages to 41 provinces in Turkey for people in need.

6. He was removed from Chinese internet providers

Héctor Herrera, Mesut Özil photo by Дмитрий –

Ozil landed in trouble in December 2019 when he published a poem online denouncing the acts of the Chinese government against Uyghur Muslims in China.

He also criticized Muslim countries for turning a blind eye to the injustices unfolding before them.

State broadcasters China central Television and channel sports responded by eliminating the match between Arsenal and Manchester city from their schedule, arsenal later released a statement distancing itself from the comments, but Ozil’s online poem had spread far and wide.

In 2021, Ozil expressed his support for Palestine in their crisis by wearing a shirt that displayed “free Palestine“ along with other Fenerbahce footballers.

7. He has retired from the Germany club

UEFA_Euro_2012_qualifying_-_Austria_vs_Germany Photo by Steindy –

Ozil shocked the world when he announced retirement from his nine-year Germany career after he received all-rounded criticism from fans, media, and even his teammates.

His unfortunate circumstance arouse when he and likay Gundogan a fellow German international player of Turkish descent, posed for a photo alongside the Turkish president.

This incident went through different lenses as the photographs were interpreted as a form of political support for Erdogan and his policies, and the players were accused of lacking loyalty to Germany.

Ozil’s storm dint end and he was smashed with criticism from all corners, and the fact that his team lost the nation’s world cup campaign made it worse.

In a lengthy post, the footballer expressed the harassment he faced from the German football association and others as someone whose roots aren’t from Germany.

He resigned feeling betrayed by the country he placed his faith in and assumed he was part of, only to be left stranded and accused of double standards.

He said, “it’s with a heavy heart and after much consideration that because of recent events, I will no longer play for Germany at the international level whilst I have those feeling of racism and disrespect “.

8. He has joined Fenerbahçe

In January 2021, Ozil moved to the Turkish club Fenerbahçe, joining the club as a free agent after his contract with Arsenal was terminated prematurely.

In his first season, he was given the number 67 jersey, which was the license plate of his ancestral town, zonguldak.

He, unfortunately, ruptured an ankle ligament and contracted Covid 19 making him miss eight games in his first season.

He scored his first goal for the club in his second season against Adana Demirspor and it was his first time captaining the team.

His career came to a halt at Fenerbahce when the club announced his exclusion along with his teammate Ozan Tufan from the squad.

Ozil completed his second season at Fenerbahçe with nine goals and two assists in 26 games in all competitions.

9. He has a sponsorship deal with Adidas

Ozil_and_Diarra,_August photo by goatling-

Ozil signed a sponsorship deal with German sportswear and equipment dealers Adidas. He has made an appearance in commercials for Adidas with other stars such as Lionel Messi.

10. He has many businesses

Ozil is known for his creativity and innovativeness in football, it’s no shock that he is also a creative entrepreneur with many business ventures of his own.

He is the boss of his M10 streetwear firm and the sports team, he also has a chain of coffee shops and sports clinics among others. He has shares in Mexican football club Necaxa as part of an ownership deal.