Mesut Ozil's body transformation has fans thinking he needs to quit retirement

The former Arsenal and Real Madrid star called time on his playing career in March this year following his departure from Istanbul Basaksehir, with him citing recurring injury problems.

Just one year prior he was playing for Fenerbahce, but was excluded from the squad for a 'fitness dispute' with then-coach Ismail Kartal and eventually had his contract mutually terminated.

But despite being in retirement, that hasn't stopped Ozil from getting in the gym.

If his latest Instagram posts are anything to go off, he's been hitting the weights big time.

During his time with Arsenal, Ozil was always ripped and boasted a six pack, helping him to become one of the best midfielders of his generation.

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However, he never really had the muscle mass he does now.

Videos posted by his personal trainer Alper Aksac on Instagram has tracked the former Gunners star's progress since he started growing muscle in the gym.

Ozil is seen doing a variation of exercises designed to build arm muscle, including bicep curls using large dumbbells and overhead pulls with the cable machine.

The most recent clip has gone viral and has unsurprisingly shocked fans who were so used to seeing a slender-looking Ozil racing around the football pitch.

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Some are so impressed with the four-time FA Cup winner's progress they've been telling him to dust off his boots and get back playing.

"Bro needs to come out of retirement play for like 3-4 more years," one fan wrote underneath the clip of Ozil looking ripped.

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A second wrote 'Ozil?!', along with a shocked face emoji.

Another said: "Brother is gathering strength to come back strong to Fener. It will be a bit like before. Later he will come back to Fener again."

Ozil showed he still loves football just over two weeks ago when he branded his former club Arsenal's rivals Tottenham 'Bottle Job FC' after their 2-1 defeat against West Ham.

Aside from four FA Cup wins, Ozil also won the Community Shield. He also made 254 appearances for the club, scoring 44 times and providing an impressive 79 assists.

Before being signed by Arsene Wenger in 2013, Ozil made 159 appearances for Spanish powerhouses Real Madrid following his move from Werder Bremen.

He won the Spanish Cup in 2011 and LaLiga in 2012, scoring 27 goals and made 81 assists.

Ozil also made 92 appearances for Germany, the country he was born in, winning the 2014 World Cup with them.

He retired from the team in 2018 as a form of protest against members within the German Football Federation.

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Despite all of that, he's still only 35 years old.

He certainly looks fit enough to have a few more years on the pitch left in the tank.