Arsenal midfielder Mesut Özil has helped 40 children in Myanmar receive life-changing surgeries through his work in a global charity project.
The surgeries were performed in Loikaw, Kayah state, by a medical team from Germany.
Özil shared stories on his official Instagram and Twitter pages where he thanked Big Shoe, a worldwide network of sports fans who help poor children, for their work and announced that the 40 kids had received the required operations.
The 31-year-old, who is well renowned for his charitable work, has been part of the Big Shoe project since winning the 2014 World Cup with Germany.
Özil has played a key role in supporting children from impoverished backgrounds receive much-needed operations. Last year he funded surgery for 1,000 children and fed 16,000 people in need.
Özil helped the charity become world famous when he covered the costs of operations for 11 children in 2014.
Other footballers involved in Big Shoe are Manchester United’s Paul Pogba, Chelsea’s Antonio Rüdiger, and Germany’s World Cup winning captain Philipp Lahm.
