Former Germany international Sami Khedira claims Mesut Ozil has privately admitted that his decision to leave Real Madrid for Arsenal was a ‘serious mistake’.
Ozil sealed a deadline day move to Arsenal in September 2013 as Arsenal stunned their Premier League rivals by paying Real Madrid £42.5 million deal for the German midfielder.
Widely regarded as one of the finest midfielders in Europe and a key part of Madrid’s attack alongside Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo, Oil’s move to Arsenal at that time saw him become the third most-expensive signing in British football behind Fernando Torres and Carlos Tevez.
However, Khedira was also part of that Madrid side having joined the Spanish club at the same time as Ozil revealed that his German teammate made a huge mistake.
Khedira also admitted that Madrid’s key players, including Ronaldo, Benzema and Sergio Ramos, who was vice-captain at the time, all questioned Florentino Perez’s decision to sell Ozil to Arsenal.
Mesut Ozil (R) of Real Madrid jokes while seated on the bench flanked by his teammate Sami Khedira (Photo by Jasper Juinen/Getty Images)
‘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 told Marca.
‘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.’
Asked if he felt Ozil could have won the Ballon d’Or if he stayed at Madrid, Khedira said: ‘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.
‘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.’
