Just over a year ago, Mesut Özil's move to Fenerbahce Istanbul seemed like the beginning of a romantic football marriage.

But the honeymoon feelings between the 2014 world champion and his former heart club have long since evaporated, the relationship has broken down and the divorce appears to have been filed.

Surprisingly, the Turkish first division club announced on Thursday that the 33-year-old captain would be excluded from the squad.

The same applies to teammate Ozan Tufan.

According to the sports newspaper "Fanatik", the decision was made for an indefinite period.

Fenerbahce itself did not want to comment on the message when asked for the time being.

When he arrived in January 2021, Özil was euphorically welcomed by the top club's fans.

He had previously terminated his contract with Arsenal FC in London.

Even the spokesman for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan greeted the professional via Twitter: "Welcome to your home, to your homeland."

The enthusiasm soon cooled.

The midfielder did not lead the club to the championship title.

Fenerbahce is currently third, 17 points behind leaders Trabzonspor, even in the previous season it was only enough for third place.

In November, club president Ali Koc complained that Özil finally had to concentrate on his work.

"He needs to put his business matters aside and focus more on how to best contribute and do his best for Fenerbahce," Koc said.

Most recently, after a substitution, there was a dispute between the star and coach Ismail Kartal, it said.

The captain only played 45 minutes in the 2-1 win over Konyaspor.

He was in the starting line-up 14 times in 30 league games this season and was substituted on eight times.

He got eight hits.

It has long been speculated that Özil wants to terminate his contract in the metropolis on the Bosphorus, which runs until 2024, in the summer and is aiming to move to the USA soon.

It wouldn't be the first time that Özil's career has come to a noisy end.

Before the botched 2018 World Cup in Russia, he was criticized for his photos with the Turkish head of state Erdogan.

After the tournament he resigned from the German national team and criticized the way he was treated.

His departure from London was also not very harmonious.

For the 2020/21 season, the London club had no longer registered the former professional from Schalke 04 and Werder Bremen for the Premier League and Europa League.

In the end, Arsenal wanted to get rid of their top earner as soon as possible.

Now Fenerbahce may have something similar in mind.