Mesut Ozil told to ‘focus’ on football by Fenerbahce president Ali Koc

ByRichard Newman

Updated 12/11/2021 at 09:43 GMT

Ozil has business and charity interests off the pitch, but Koc says it is having an impact on it. The former Germany international’s high profile move to Turkey earlier this year has not gone to plan, but the Fenerbahce president insists there “not a problem” regarding Ozil’s relationship with boss Vitor Pereira.

Mesut Ozil has been told to "focus" on football by the Fenerbahce president

Image credit: Getty Images

Mesut Ozil has been told to “focus on his game” by the Fenerbahce president, Ali Koc.

The former Germany international has struggled since his high-profile move from Arsenal earlier this year - a switch which was tipped as being what the midfielder needed to revitalise his career.

This season, Ozil has made 13 appearances for the club he supported as a child, although most of his recent outings have been from the bench. He was also seen to throw his bib in the direction of boss Vitor Pereira when he was an unused substitute in a recent game - but Koc insists there is no issue with the relationship between Ozil and the head coach.

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The midfielder has a number of business and charity interests off the pitch, including the UK, and he recently opened the Football for Peace Mesut Ozil Centre in Bradford - a facility to give British south Asians better opportunities to play the game. But Koc believes projects like that are having an impact on performances.

"Since the start of this season, Mesut Ozil has been compared to Robin van Persie,” Koc told Fenerbahce TV, referring to the former striker’s impact at the club.

Ozil wants to play more. From now on, he needs to focus on his game and keep his commercial interests out of it. He needs to think about contributing to Fenerbahce.

"Our coach also needs to try to figure out how to get the most out of Ozil. There is not a problem, despite what the media says. Mesut is unhappy because he does not play regularly."