Mesut Özil

Mesut Özil (, ; born 15 October 1988) is a German former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. 

Özil is often praised for his skill at being an attacking midfielder. He is known for making lots of assists. In 2011, he made the second most assists with Real Madrid in La Liga with 17 and the most assists in major European competitions with 25.

 Club career 

 Schalke 04 

In 2005, he went to the youth department of FC Schalke 04. He was a midfielder, and his number was 17. He soon played in the Ligapokal, against teams such as FC Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen. He was thought to be the "next big thing," but soon left the club.

 Werder Bremen 

In 2008, Mesut Özil moved to Werder Bremen for a reported amount of €4.3 million, signing a contract with the German club until June 30, 2011. He soon became popular in the club, leading them to the 2009 DFB-Pokal final with the winning goal against Bayer Leverkusen. He helped the team make it to the UEFA Cup, but lost to Shakhtar Donetsk. 

 Real Madrid 

Because of his impressive performance in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, he made his place as one of the best young football athletes in Europe. Teams such as FC Barcelona, Manchester United. and Arsenal wanted him in their squad. Werder Bremen made an agreement with Real Madrid. The transfer amount was believed to be near €15 million. After signing, Özil said, "When the offer came in to join Real Madrid, there is no decision to make. Let's be honest – you don't refuse this club. I was in no rush to leave Werder Bremen, but this is one club you say yes to. They are an institution, a club with a fantastic history, stadium and squad full of world-class players. The prospect of performing at the Bernabeu is so awesome you jump straight in."

His first game was against Hércules, which the team won the game 3-1. His first goal was against Deportivo de La Coruña, which the team won 6-1.

Mesut Özil performed many assists, and in the 2011-12 season he was nominated for the FIFA Ballon d'Or award. Real Madrid maintained its success, and finished in 1st place in the 2011-12 La Liga.

Arsenal

Ozil joined Arsenal in September 2013 at a transfer fee believed to be around €50 million. His first game for Arsenal was against Sunderland in which the team won 3-1, with him making an assist. He was a top performer in his first season, however his form has went down since then.

Career statistics
Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupEuropeOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsSchalke 04 II2005–06Oberliga10————10Schalke 042006–07Bundesliga190102010—2302007–08Bundesliga110110040—161Total300212050—391Werder Bremen2007–08Bundesliga121——20—1412008–09Bundesliga28352—140—4752009–10Bundesliga31950—102—46112010–11Bundesliga—10———10Total7113112—262—10817Real Madrid2010–11La Liga36663—111—53102011–12La Liga35450—102215272012–13La Liga32980—1012052102013–14La Liga20————20Total10519193—3144115927Arsenal2013–14Premier League265511081—4072014–15Premier League224510050003252015–16Premier League356100082104582016–17Premier League338300084—44122017–18Premier League264002071003552018–19Premier League2451000101—3562019–20Premier League181102020—2312020–21Premier League000000000000Total18433162504891025444Fenerbahçe2020–21Süper Lig10010———1102021–22Süper Lig22800—41—269Total32810—41—379İstanbul Başakşehir2022–23Süper Lig4010—20—70Career total4277350870116165160598

International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsGermany2009712010142201195201213620139320141012015802016133201751201841Total9223

Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Özil goal.

+ List of international goals scored by Mesut ÖzilNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1  5 September 2009  BayArena, Leverkusen, Germany   2–0 2–0  Friendly2  23 June 2010  Soccer City, Johannesburg, South Africa   1–0 1–0  2010 FIFA World Cup3  8 October 2010  Olympic Stadium, Berlin, Germany   2–0 3–0 UEFA Euro 2012 qualification4  7 June 2011  Tofiq Bahramov Stadium, Baku, Azerbaijan   1–0 3–1UEFA Euro 2012 qualification5 2 September 2011 Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Germany  2–0 6–2UEFA Euro 2012 qualification6 4–17  11 October 2011  Esprit Arena, Düsseldorf, Germany   1–0 3–1UEFA Euro 2012 qualification8  15 November 2011  Volksparkstadion, Hamburg, Germany   3–0 3–0  Friendly9  28 June 2012  National Stadium, Warsaw, Poland   1–2 1–2  UEFA Euro 201210 7 September 2012 AWD-Arena, Hanover, Germany  2–0 3–0 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification11 3–012  11 September 2012  Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria   2–0 2–12014 FIFA World Cup qualification13  12 October 2012  Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland   3–0 6–12014 FIFA World Cup qualification14  16 October 2012  Olympic Stadium, Berlin, Germany   4–0 4–42014 FIFA World Cup qualification15  10 September 2013  Tórsvøllur, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands   2–0 3–02014 FIFA World Cup qualification16  11 October 2013  Rhein-Energie Stadion, Cologne, Germany   3–0 3–02014 FIFA World Cup qualification17  15 October 2013  Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden   1–2 5–32014 FIFA World Cup qualification18  30 June 2014  Estádio Beira-Rio, Porto Alegre, Brazil   2–0 2–1  2014 FIFA World Cup19  29 March 2016  Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany   4–0 4–1  Friendly20  2 July 2016  Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France   1–0 1–1  UEFA Euro 201621  31 August 2016  Borussia-Park, Mönchengladbach, Germany   2–0 2–0  Friendly22  4 September 2017  Mercedes-Benz Arena, Stuttgart, Germany   1–0 6–0  2018 FIFA World Cup qualification23  2 June 2018  Wörtherseestadion, Klagenfurt, Austria   1–0 1–2  Friendly

Honours
Werder Bremen
DFB-Pokal: 2008–09; runner-up: 2009–10
UEFA Cup runner-up: 2008–09

Real Madrid
La Liga: 2011–12
Copa del Rey: 2010–11; runner-up: 2012–13
Supercopa de España: 2012

Arsenal
FA Cup: 2013–14, 2014–15, 2016–17, 2019–20
FA Community Shield: 2015  
EFL Cup runner-up: 2017–18
UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2018–19

Germany U21
UEFA European Under-21 Championship: 2009

Germany
FIFA World Cup: 2014; third place: 2010

Individual
kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2008–09
kicker Attacking Midfielder of the Year: 2010
Most assists in the Premier League: 2015–16
German Player of the Year: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016
UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 2012
UEFA Team of the Year: 2012, 2013
Laureus Media Award: 2014
PFA Fans Player of the Month: April, November & December 2015
German Football Ambassador Public Award: 2015
Arsenal Player of the Season: 2015–16
kicker Best German Abroad: 2016

References

Category:1988 births
Category:Living people
Category:German footballers
Category:German autobiographers
Category:Sportspeople from Gelsenkirchen
Category:Bundesliga players
Category:Premier League players
Category:Arsenal F.C. players
Category:2010 FIFA World Cup players
Category:UEFA Euro 2012 players
Category:2014 FIFA World Cup players
Category:UEFA Euro 2016 players
Category:2018 FIFA World Cup players