Mesut Ozil joined Arsenal in 2013 under Arsene Wenger
Mesut Ozil joined Arsenal in 2013 under Arsene Wenger
Mesut Ozil's former team-mate has revealed that the former Real Madrid and Arsenal star believes his move to the Emirates was a "serious mistake".
Ozil scored 44 goals and provided 75 assists in 254 appearances for Arsenal, having joined the club from Madrid for £42.5million in 2013. The move made Ozil the third-most expensive Premier League signing in history at the time behind Fernando Torres and Cristiano Ronaldo.
However, Sami Khedira, who joined Madrid alongside Ozil in 2010 after the pair impressed for Germany at the World Cup, has revealed the playmaker's departure did not go down well with the club's top stars.
"Everyone understands Cristiano. To win games, Cristiano was the man, because he never failed. He was always there. We needed a goal, so we passed the ball to Cristiano. But the most special player for me was Mesut Ozil," Khedira said in an interview with Marca.
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"And I explain it with his departure. The day Mesut left, we were all saying to Florentino: 'But why are you selling him?' But we all said it, right? Benzema, Cristiano, Ramos… Ozil was an absolute genius, he was a real magician.
"I played behind him and you gave him a bad pass and he controlled the ball with ease… I have never seen a player with that class and that quality, really." Khedira then went on to claim that Ozil had told him privately that his move to Arsenal was a "serious mistake".
When asked if Ozil could have won the Ballon d'Or if he had stayed at Madrid, Khedira added: "I don't know, because there were Cristiano and Messi and also Xavi and Iniesta, who for me should have won a Ballon d'Or.
Sami Khedira and Mesut Ozil
Sami Khedira has revealed Ozil told him that joining Arsenal was a "serious mistake" ( Image: Angel Martinez)
"But yes, Ozil had that potential. And although he had a great career, it would have been different at Madrid. And he told me that it was a serious mistake to leave Madrid, because he had everything here.
"The Bernabeu loved him, he played like an angel. Really, Mesut played like Zidane. My idol was Zizou and if you put both of them on YouTube and watch them… Mesut was like Zizou."
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