According to a statement on the Turkish Red Crescent website, Özil is donating 713,000 Turkish lira (£81,333) to charity to provide food for those in need. Thousands of families in Turkey, Syria and the Somali capital of Mogadishu will receive his aid.
This isn’t the first time Özil has helped the charity. He worked with them last year as well, donating meals to 16,000 people as part of his wedding celebrations.
The AFC Bell also recently reported that Özil is preparing to donate a share of his money to a Turkish research centre specialising in experiments to find a new vaccine for COVID-19.
As things stand, Özil is still reportedly holding out over taking a pay cut at Arsenal. He’s willing to accept a pay deferral, or a significant pay cut at a later date if necessary, but only when the situation becomes clearer.
In the meantime, he’s using those extra wages to help support his chosen charities. It’s hard to judge him too harshly for that stance, not that the tabloid media care.
If the Premier League doesn’t conclude the season, Arsenal will definitely need him to join the others in taking pay cut. It’s not urgent right now, though. Özil clearly realises that and thinks his money is more useful elsewhere.
By Agencies
