Mesut Ozil acknowledged his "dream" move to Fenerbahce did not go in the "direction" he wanted as he heads for Istanbul Basaksehir.
The 33-year-old had been at odds with interim head coach Ismail Kartal, and Jorge Jesus seemingly made it clear Ozil was not part of his plans following his appointment as boss last month.
Former Germany midfielder Ozil joined Fener on a three-and-a-half-year deal in January 2021 following his release from Arsenal.
Ozil's move did not go to plan, though, and the playmaker has been in the wilderness once again since being banished from first-team duties in March.
Media speculation linked him with Basaksehir and the club hinted at an agreement with a tweet in which Ozil was tagged on Wednesday.
That was followed by Ozil bidding farewell to Fenerbahce, recognising his time at the club was a disappointment.
He tweeted: "One of the things that makes life is that it is full of uncertainties. Our plans, desires and wishes may not always go in the direction you want them to.
"I wanted to achieve success by getting more chances to play in the Fenerbahce jersey, which has always been my childhood dream.
"I would like to thank the Fenerbahce community and fans for the great support they have shown me."
However, Ozil's apparent choice of a move to Basaksehir may not come as a huge surprise to many.
The 2019-20 Turkish Super Lig champions have close ties to the country's controversial president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was allowed to score a hat-trick in the exhibition game that inaugurated their Fatih Terim Stadium in 2014. His number 12 jersey was retired.
In 2018, Ozil – and Ilkay Gundogan, who is also of Turkish heritage – courted significant criticism for posing for photographs with Erdogan when he visited London.
Ozil retired from international football after the 2018 World Cup. He felt the backlash and media coverage relating to his meeting with Erdogan were part of a wider racist agenda, which was key in his decision to call it quits.
The following year, Erdogan was Ozil's best man at his wedding on the banks of the Bosphorus.
Jude Bellingham helps Real Madrid end Girona’s unbeaten start
Jude Bellingham continued his fairytale start to life at Real Madrid with another starring performance in a 3-0 victory over previously undefeated Girona.
Bellingham set Real on their way with a superb assist for Joselu’s first-half opener and, after Aurelien Tchouameni had made it 2-0, the England midfielder wrapped things up with his seventh goal for the Spanish giants.
Real Madrid’s victory, their seventh in eight LaLiga games, saw them return to the top of the table with Girona dropping from second to third.
The final scoreline was harsh on a Girona side who had recorded six successive wins since their opening-weekend draw at Real Sociedad, but the Catalan underdogs paid the price for not taking their chances.
Madrid have developed an unwelcome habit of conceding early goals this season and Girona could easily have been 2-0 up inside the opening five minutes.
Yangel Herrera should have done better with a header which cleared the crossbar before Viktor Tsygankov struck the outside of the post with a far-post header that left flew across the outstretched hand of Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Real were riding their luck but took the lead in the 18th minute following a moment of magic from Bellingham.
The summer signing from Borussia Dortmund curled in an inch-perfect cross with the outside of his right foot which picked out Joselu’s run at the far post and the Spain striker’s finish was too powerful for Paulo Gazzaniga to keep out.
The buoyant visitors were celebrating a second goal barely three minutes later when Tchouameni escaped his marker at a corner to power home a header.
Girona were suddenly looking shaky at the back and Bellingham almost made it 3-0 in the 28th minute after racing onto Vinicius Jr’s pass, with Gazzaniga denying the 20-year-old.
Gazzaniga also produced a fine save to tip over Toni Kroos’ effort on the stroke of half-time as Madrid looked to finish their opponents off before the break.
However, Girona managed to keep the deficit at two goals going into the interval and, like in the first half, they came out all guns blazing at the start of the second and should have pulled a goal back.
The unmarked David Lopez saw his powerful header from a free-kick parried away by Kepa before Herrera headed another good opportunity down into the ground and over the bar.
That was as close as Girona would come to getting back into the game, though, and Real wrapped up the points with Bellingham again centre stage.
The £88.5million man was denied at close range by Gazzaniga just after the hour but there was no stopping the red-hot midfielder in the 71st minute as he made it 3-0 with a clinical finish.
Joselu saw his shot parried back to him by Gazzaniga and, after the ball looped up into the air off the forward, Bellingham pounced to fire a volley into the ground and past the helpless Girona keeper.
The hosts would have breathed a sigh of relief at seeing Bellingham substituted soon after, but the damage has been done, although Real’s win was soured following a late red card for Nacho Fernandez.
The visitors’ captain was initially shown a yellow card for his flying studs-up challenge on Cristian Portu, but that was quickly changed to a red after the referee consulted the pitchside monitor, and a touchline melee involving both teams followed.
Tottenham claim dramatic last-gasp victory over nine-man Liverpool
Tottenham celebrated another jaw-dropping 2-1 stoppage-time victory as Joel Matip’s own goal finally broke nine-man Liverpool’s resistance.
Saturday evening’s box office battle pitted together exciting, resurgent sides that had both begun the new Premier League season unbeaten having bounced back from chastening campaigns last term.
Jurgen Klopp’s men were seconds away from leaving north London with a fantastic point after Cody Gakpo cancelled out Son Heung-min’s opener in a match which saw the visitors have two players sent off.
Curtis Jones and half-time introduction Diogo Jota were sent off at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where Spurs finally beat Liverpool at the fifth time of asking.
Just like in their last home game against Sheffield United a fortnight ago, Ange Postecoglou’s men triumphed thanks to a stunning stoppage-time conclusion.
This time it was Liverpool defender Matip providing the key touch, inadvertently turning home Pedro Porro’s cross to spark wild celebrations in the sixth minute of added time.
Harry Kane kickstarts Bayern Munich comeback in draw with RB Leipzig
Harry Kane was on target as Bayern Munich came from two goals down draw 2-2 at RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga.
Leipzig struck early through Lois Openda and Castello Lukeba but Kane and Leroy Sane replied in the second half to earn the reigning champions a point.
But the draw saw Thomas Tuchel’s men end the day in third, two points behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen.
Bayern almost scored inside three minutes when Kane’s smart pass in midfield played in the elusive Jamal Musiala but the attacking midfielder failed to hold his nerve and his shot was saved by Janis Blaswich.
Straight after, Bayern goalkeeper Sven Ulreich was nearly caught outside his box, but Leipzig took their second opportunity to open the scoring after 20 minutes.
Xaver Schlager retrieved the ball in midfield and he slipped through Openda who sped away from his man before his deflected effort nestled in the corner to give the hosts a 1-0 lead over the German champions.
And in the 26th minute Bayern shipped another goal as Leipzig stormed into a 2-0 lead.
Ulreich misjudged the flight of David Raum’s whipped corner and a knockdown in the box found the alert Lukeba who scored and stunned Tuchel’s side at Red Bull Arena.
Leipzig played with a higher intensity and quality which forced fouls from Kane and Dayot Upamecano who received bookings as Bayern searched for a way back.
And they brought one back in the 57th minute from the spot through Kane.
Musiala’s free-kick cannoned off the elbow of Benjamin Henrichs and after a VAR review the referee pointed to the spot which allowed Kane to bury his eighth Bundesliga goal.
Bayern grew in confidence and completed the comeback in the 70th minute.
Musiala showed his explosive pace when he countered from a Leipzig corner before he slipped in Sane who opened his body up and slid his effort home.
With 10 minutes to go Bayern searched for a winner and were camped in Leipzig’s final third, looking for openings to complete the turnaround.
Sane enjoyed touches of the ball in dangerous positions but Leipzig’s Schlager was quick to tackle and drive his team forward before he nearly picked out Benjamin Sesko in the 88th minute against the run of play.
Ulreich sensationally rushed out and beat Sesko to the ball in a 50-50 when the striker was played through and the game ended level after six minutes of added time.
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