It was the last Sunday in July 2018 when he drew a line for himself - under his career in the German national soccer team, but also under a dispute that had occurred in the weeks before following a photo.
It shows Mesut Özil with the Turkish head of state Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
In three parts - at 12:52 p.m., then at 3:03 p.m. and finally at 8:04 p.m. - Özil announced his end in the selection of the German Football Association (DFB), finely orchestrated on social media.
It was the media event at the end of a German football summer, which not only caused a stir with the embarrassing preliminary round at the World Cup in Russia.
He consistently rejected advances by the national coach.
Now the DFB is making a new attempt.