'Ozil is the problem', says Jordan as clubs warned about signing ex-Arsenal star

The former Arsenal star joined the Turkish giants in January 2021 to huge fanfare but, after a positive start, things started to unravel for the 33-year-old.

He fell out of favour with previous head coach Ismail Kartal, who questioned his level of fitness.

The appointment of new manager Jorge Jesus did little to change Ozil's situation, with the midfielder frozen out until he was released by the club.

Ozil endured a turbulent end to his time at Arsenal, too, as he fell out with Mikel Arteta and was frozen out of the first-team - with a similar ending playing out at Fenerbahce.

And talkSPORT pundit Jordan admitted he was not surprised by the latest reports coming out of Istanbul, with history repeating itself.

The White and Jordan host said: "People can change and people do change and what's the purpose of the mind if you can't change it?

"But there are character traits that people have that exhibit themselves over a period of time and it's not surprising that they exhibit themselves again."

Ozil was reportedly ready to see out his career with the 19-time Turkish champion, but Jordan feels that the German has done Fenerbahce a disservice after the club rolled out the red carpet for him.

"I think we saw what Mesut Ozil was, we heard what Mesut Ozil was," he said.

"We saw him positioning himself in a certain way so you can't get more adoration and love and support than he got from Fenerbahce who wanted him there. They would have flown him over on a magic carpet if they could have done.

"And here we are with the same situation manifesting itself, and if you've just taken the person with the problem and moved them somewhere else, then he's the problem.

"So I don't believe in this instance that we can give Mesut Ozil anything other than 'you are what you are' and 'you've reverted to type' so in this instance you are an unequivocal leopard not changing its spots."

Jordan's comments could be seen as a warning for other clubs looking to sign the playmaker and now free agent, with reports Ozil may already have his next move lined up.

It is claimed Ozil could remain in Turkey with Istanbul Basaksehir believed to be interested in acquiring his services.

However, the player's agent Dr Erkut Sogut has hinted that he sees his client opting for a complete career change - playing computer games for money.

"He will go more into eSports, play himself and maybe become an e-sports athlete," Dr Sogut told the Daily Telegraph.

"He's really good, to be honest, at Fortnite and I think one day I wouldn't be surprised if he is competing.

"He owns a team - M10 Esports - and he has players. He has a gaming house in Germany.

"He has football, like Fifa, and Fortnite."