Mesut Ozil, former Real Madrid and Arsenal midfielder, declared on Wednesday his retirement from professional football. Ozil, 34, was playing in Turkey with Fenerbahce for two years now, since the termination of his contract with Arsenal.
The soccer player began his career with a game against Schalke in the Bundesliga, the German league, and Weder Bremen. From there, he rose to become a superstar in the soccer field for Madrid, and then grew to become one of the biggest names in the game.
Sharing his decision in a post on social media, Ozil said, "After thoughtful consideration, I'm announcing my immediate retirement from professional football."
He added that while he has played for nearly two decades, his recent injuries have forced him to hang his boots.
"I've had the privilege to be a professional football player for almost 17 years now and I feel incredibly thankful for the opportunity. But in recent weeks and months, having also suffered some injuries, its become more and more clear that its time to leave the big stage of football," Ozil said.
Thank you ❤️ pic.twitter.com/Aqr4pB5SI2
— Mesut Özil (@M10) March 22, 2023
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Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
