Yurttas claims the 37-year-old has been discussed behind the scenes as a candidate for the position. No confirmation has come from the federation or from Özil's representatives, and the report should be treated with caution given its single-source basis.
Özil is currently a minority co-owner of Mexican second-division club Necaxa and has no active involvement in professional football. He retired from playing in 2023 after spells at Fenerbahçe and Istanbul Başakşehir following a career that included Real Madrid, Arsenal, Werder Bremen and Schalke.
His connection to Turkish football is deep but complicated. Born in Gelsenkirchen to Turkish parents, he represented Germany at senior level and was part of the squad that won the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
He retired from the German national team in 2018, citing racism and a lack of support from the German Football Association after a controversy surrounding his decision to be photographed with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The episode gave him a powerful symbolic resonance in Turkey that outlasted his playing career.
Özil made 92 appearances for Germany, scoring 23 international goals. At Arsenal he won three FA Cups and played eight seasons at the Emirates. His most statistically celebrated campaign came in 2015-16, when he recorded 19 Premier League assists in a single season.
A role in football administration would represent a significant change of direction. Whether the interest is genuine or whether Özil himself has any inclination toward it remains unclear at this stage.
The Turkish Football Federation has faced turbulence in recent years. The federation's last elected president, Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu, took office in 2023 but has presided over continued controversies surrounding refereeing standards and club financing.
Bringing in a high-profile former player with name recognition across Europe and Turkey would represent a change of approach in both substance and optics.