Ozil moves to Istanbul Basaksehir 29 minutes after release by Fenerbahce

German star Mesut Ozil has sensationally been announced as Istanbul Basaksehir's latest signing, less than half an hour after confirmation of his release from Turkish rivals Fenerbahce.

Ozil's contract at Fenerbahce was ripped up nearly four months after he was frozen out of the squad following a row over his fitness with then interim head coach Ismail Kartal.

His fortunes did not improve under new manager Jorge Jesus who continued to exclude the former Arsenal star from his squad but reports suggest the termination of his contract was done by mutual agreement.

But 29 minutes after that decision from last season's Turkish Super Lig runners-up was confirmed, Ozil was announced as a new signing for city rivals Istanbul Basaksehir.

In the announcement video, they did not show the face of the 33-year-old ex-Real Madrid and Germany midfielder but simply tagged his Twitter handle accompanied with 35 seconds of a famous Turkish song sang by Tarkan Tevetoglu.

But Istanbul Basaksehir will hope he brings his dancing shoes to the Fatih Terim Stadium, having not featured for Turkish Super Lig side Fenerbahce since March 20.

Ozil played 36 matches for Fenerbahce, scoring nine goals and assisting three others.

The 33-year-old had left Arsenal in January 2021 to make the switch to Turkey, but his spell fell flat and resulted in him training alone after being exiled.

Earlier this summer, Ozil insisted he was keen to still 'contribute' to the club despite the uncertainty lingering over his future. He also unfollowed them on social media.

Now he joins a club nicknamed 'Erdogan FC' after Turkey's president, with Recep Tayyip's portrait hanging at the football club's training ground and the Basaksehir neighbourhood being known as a stronghold for his party.

Ozil's long-term friendship with president Erdogan remains intact, with the latter being the former's best man at his wedding in 2019.

His friendship with Erdogan stretches back more than a decade and a meeting with him alongside Ilkay Gundogan and Cenk Tosun prior to the 2018 World Cup caused a huge stir in Germany due to the president's policies towards the country.

Ozil's move comes despite a statement last month in which he hit out at 'fake news' reports around his future in a post on Instagram - accompanied by a photo of him walking out in a Fenerbahce shirt - and stressing he wants to 'serve' the Turkish outfit.

'I wanted to make this statement in order to prevent the discrediting of myself in the public and to inform our community correctly,' he said.

'First of all, I make my preparations individually with a special program, and I patiently wait for my time to come in order to meet my childhood love and contribute.

'I did not come to Fenerbahce and my homeland Turkey for a holiday. Every time I sweat our glorious jersey, I have no other purpose than to contribute. I have many goals that I would like to live in Fenerbahçe, my childhood love. I will not quit football until I do these things.

'Both me and my club are going through a process inherent in football. It is my greatest desire to serve my beloved Fenerbahçe by getting through this process in the best way possible.

'My request to our fans is that they do not give credence to the fake news in the media.'