Mesut Ozil, a World Cup champion, announced his retirement from football on Wednesday. He has played for Germany at the international level and for Real Madrid and Arsenal at the club level.
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The 34-year-old sadly left the international stage after South Korea eliminated the Germans from the 2018 tournament in Russia. He assisted Germany to victory in Brazil in 2014.
The attacking midfielder announced his immediate retirement from professional football after considering it.
"I've had the honor of playing for my country's national football team for almost 17 years, and I'm tremendously grateful for the chance".
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But it has been increasingly evident in recent weeks and months that it is time to quit the significant football stage after also experiencing some injuries.
Turkish descent but born in the German city of Gelsenkirchen origin, Ozil played on some of the biggest stages in football but also became caught up in world politics and racial charges.
Injured German player Mesut Ozil accused the German people of "racist" attacks after Germany's elimination from the 2018 World Cup in the group stage.
His club career took off when his 2010 transfer from the Bundesliga to Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid team was made possible by his nimble passing and vision.
He quickly took the assist lead in La Liga and contributed to the Spanish club's 32nd league triumph in 2012.
His high-profile transfer to Arsenal in 2013 enabled the London team to win the FA Cup the following season.
In 2014, Ozil began the championship match as Germany defeated Argentina 1-0 in extra time at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro behind a goal by Mario Goetze.
Ozil was frequently on Ballon d'Or shortlists, but his close friendship with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and disagreements over playing time plagued him in his final years.
Erdogan served as best man at Ozil's 2019 marriage to actress and former Miss Turkey Amine in Istanbul.
But during that summer's World Cup, there was a lot of controversy over Ozil's decision to pose with Erdogan on the eve of Turkey's 2018 presidential election.
At that time, Erdogan was launching a broad political purge in response to an aborted coup attempt against his administration.
Many people took Ozil's photo with Erdogan as the political support of Erdogan during the 2018 election season.
Before joining Fenerbahce and, most recently, Istanbul Basaksehir, he concluded his career as an international player.
