Mesut Ozil, former Real Madrid and Arsenal player, has announced his retirement from football.

The 34-year-old former German international spent eight years at the Emirates Stadium after a £42.5million switch to North London from Spanish giants Real Madrid in 2013.

Ozil disclosed his retirement via his official Twitter account (@M10) on Wednesday.

As a player, he won four FA Cup titles for Arsenal before joining Fenerbahce in January 2021.

“After thoughtful consideration, I’m announcing my immediate retirement from professional football.

“I’ve had the privilege to be a professional football player for almost 17 years now and I feel incredibly thankful for the opportunity. But in recent weeks and months, having also suffered some injuries, it’s become more and more clear that it’s time to leave the big stage of football.”

He described his football journey as an amazing one filled with unforgettable moments and emotions.

He thanked the clubs he had played for – Schalke 04, Werder Bremen, Real Madrid, Arsenal FC, Fenerbache, Basaksehir, the coaches who supported him and team mates who have become friends.

He added, “Special thanks must go to my family members and my closest friends. They have been a part of my journey from day one and have given me so much love and support, through the good and the bad.

“Thank you to all my fans who have shown me so much love no matter the circumstances and no matter which club I was representing. Now I’m looking forward to everything that is in front of me with my beautiful wife, Amine, and my two beautiful daughters, Eda and Ela – but you can be sure that you will hear from me from time to time on my social media channels (winks).

“See you soon, Mesut!”

Leon Edwards retained his welterweight UFC title after defeating Kamaru Usman by majority decision at UFC 286 in London.

The Briton who is on a 12-fight unbeaten streak in the UFC retained his title in front of his own fans after a brilliant striking display as he prevented the majority of Usman’s takedown attempts.

The 31-year-old edged out former champion Kamaru Usman in their trilogy encounter with points. It was close match but Edwards landed the cleaner shots.

Judges scored the bout 48-46, 48-46, 47-47 to give Edwards a majority decision.

The bout at the O2 Arena was billed as the biggest British MMA fight in history.

After his loss, Kamaru Usman congratulated Edwards on his accomplishments by calling him “a great champion.”

He also noted that he did enough to win but admitted it was close.

Usman told BT Sport: “I think I did enough to win the fight but I knew it was close.

“He had a great gameplan. I always said from the start we’d meet again and I’m not done. We will see each other again.

“I always gave him props for what he’s accomplished. He’s a brother like myself and great respect. London you’ve got yourself a great champion.

When asked about his plans to get back in the octagon, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’, Usman who has now lost two successive fights said: “Not too long. I’ll get back with my coaches. I’m one of those guys, I can’t sit for too long.

“I’ll spend some time with my daughter. You guys get to watch us but you don’t know what we have to sacrifice to be here. We put it on the lines every time,” he added.

‘I might take a trip to Miami’– Edwards hints at a bout with Covington

After clinching victory in superb fashion, Jamaican-born Edwards called Kamaru a “great competitor” and also hinted at a bout with former interim welterweight champion Colby Covington, who was sat at cage-side.

He said: “That man [Colby Covington] has sat out for two years. I might take a little trip to Miami and see what’s going on there.”

On his win against Usman, Edwards said: “He didn’t get any takedowns I was landing cleaner shots. I took out his legs.

“Thanks to Kamaru for being a great competitior.

“I couldn’t get the kick around his head. He had the perfect defence. I was trying to set it up with kicks to the body and legs.

“I know it was a close fight so I knew I had to land the cleaner shots. He didn’t land many clean on me. He just had lots of pressure.

Chelsea FC of England will face Spanish giants, Real Madrid in the quarter finals of the 2022/2023 Champions League.

Manchester City, the other remaining Premier League side will confront Germany power houses, Bayern Munich.

Napoli, the run-away Seria A leaders will confront defending domestic league Champions, AC Milan, in what is an all Italian affair.

Inter Milan on the other hand, face Portuguese side Benfica.