The Athletic said today, Saturday, that the English football club Arsenal has reached a preliminary agreement with its German player Mesut Ozil to terminate the contract between them 6 months before its date so that the player can join the Turkish club Fenerbahce.
Ozil, 32, of Turkish descent, has not participated in any match with the London club since last March, and has been out of the squad at the Premier League and European League level since the start of this season.
Turkish media said earlier this month that Fenerbahce will have a contract with Ozil for a period of 3 and a half years.
Ozil is one of the highly paid people at Arsenal.
Ozil can negotiate with other clubs about the transfer, because his current contract with Arsenal expires in less than 6 months, but "The Athletic" said that the Turkish club will sign him as a free player.
"Fenerbahce (in Turkey) is like Real Madrid in Spain. It is the biggest club in the country," the former Germany international player Ozil said during an interactive meeting with fans on Twitter last week.
Ozil joined Arsenal in 2013 for about 42 million pounds ($ 57 million), a record amount at the club level at the time, from Real Madrid and played a prominent role in ending the club's fast on titles when he helped him win the England Cup in his first season with him.
After the departure of French coach Arsene Wenger and Unai Emery assuming the job instead, Ozil found himself marginalized and the neglect continued under current coach Mikel Arteta, who said that the veteran player was excluded from the squad for technical reasons.
Earlier this month, Arteta did not rule out the possibility of Ozil leaving during the current transfer window if the club received the appropriate offer for both parties.