After a long and illustrious career, former Real Madrid and Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil has announced his retirement from professional football.
The German playmaker made the announcement via social media and has stated that he will hang up his boots with immediate effect, which means this will be his last appearance in a FIFA title.
So, given this is the last time we see Ozil as a current player in FIFA, EA is surely set to hand the footballing icon a special End of an Era (EOAE) SBC card in Ultimate Team.
Final farewell
As some of you may be unaware, Ozil was most recently signed with Turkish club Istanbul Basaksehir, playing in the Super Lig.
The German attacking midfielder has struggled massively with various injuries this season, making only four league appearances this campaign.
The 34-year-old made the announcement that he will retire in a post on his Twitter account.
"I've had the privilege to be a professional football player for almost 17 years now and I feel incredibly thankful for the opportunity," he said.
Ozil went on to say: "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."
"It has been an amazing journey filled with unforgettable moments and emotions."
Legend of the game
Mesut Ozil began his career in Germany at Schalke and Werder Bremen before moving to Real Madrid in the summer of 2010, winning La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup.
He joined Arsenal for a then club record fee of £42.4m in September 2013, winning back-to-back FA Cups in his first two seasons before being named player of the season in his third, and then winning the cup again in 2017.
He joined Fenerbahce on a free transfer in January 2021 and then made the switch to Basaksehir in July 2022.
All in all, Ozil won nine trophies during his club career including four FA Cups and the Spanish La Liga title in 2012.
He also won 92 caps for Germany and played a key role in Germany's 2014 World Cup-winning campaign in Brazil.
Ozil was named Germany player of the year five times and was part of the side that reached the semi-finals of the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012.
End of an Era Mesut Ozil
There is no doubt in our minds that Ozil will be getting an End of an Era SBC card in FIFA 23 Ultimate Team.
We expect the German's special item to be bumped up to 93 OVR, in keeping with the EOAE cards which have come before him for the likes of Gareth Bale.
Ozil's End of an Era card could boast an astonishing 97 Passing as well as 94 Dribbling, 89 Shooting and 87 Pace.
The number 10 will also retain the four-star skill moves from his FIFA 23 base item, with a boost to a four-star weak foot potentially on the cards too.
Given the league in which Ozil now plays, we expect EA to price this SBC reasonably. Perhaps the EOAE item will cost roughly 100,000 coins on the PlayStation and Xbox market.
Should EA set the price of the Ozil Squad Building Challenge under 100,000 coins it will be another must-complete for FIFA 23 users.