Arsenal are reportedly set to lose an eye-watering £7.2m when out-of-favour midfielder Mesut Ozil finally departs.
READ MORE: Exclusive: West Ham make enquiry to Real Madrid for out-of-favour star
Ozil, 32, joined Arsenal all the way back in 2013 after making the famous switch from La Liga giants Real Madrid.
After arriving in London off the back of a stunning World Cup campaign, Ozil has gone on to feature in over 250 matches in all competitions for the Gunners.
Remarkably, despite falling out-of-favour throughout periods of his seven-year spell with the Gunners, the German midfielder has still managed to rack-up a hugely impressive 121 goal contributions.
However, after current manager Mikel Arteta seemingly axed the talented creator from his side’s Premier League and Europa League squads, Ozil’s time at the Emirates looked to be coming to a bitter end.
Recently, there have been suggestions one club leading the race to land the Arsenal midfielder is Turkish side Fenerbahce.
However, with no official confirmation yet, fans have been forced to wait to learn the fate of their number-10.
The latest in the ongoing saga comes from journalist Yagiz Sabuncuoglu who has recently claimed that a January departure for Ozil would cost the Gunners a whopping £7.2 (€8m).
Sabuncuoglu goes on to claim: “Mesut [Ozil] will either waive some of his receivables and receive his bonus service in return or demand the full amount he deserves.”
In other words, it’s going to cost Arsenal a fair bit to buy Ozil’s contract out, presumably there are clauses and loyalty bonuses which will need to be paid directly to the German superstar.
This news comes shortly after it was announced the club have had to secure a whopping £120m bank loan (as per Sky Sports) in order to cope with the implications the ongoing COVID-19 crisis is having.
Perhaps if they weren’t obliged to pay one player nearly £8m just to depart they wouldn’t be in such a financial crisis; the wonderful world of football finances eh?