‘Both Sides’, a newly launched book in Europe has revealed startling facts about Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil.
Written by former Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner, parts of the book explain how his former teammate Ozil, met his axe at Real Madrid in 2013 at a time when the German was a fans darling. He was also equally loved by colleagues and the entire Madrid fraternity.
But president Florentino Perez had to make the ‘infamous’ decision in spite of the “Don’t sell Ozil,” chants.
“If I were in charge at Madrid, Ozil would be one of the last to be leaving,” Sergio Ramos said. And Alvaro Arbeloa added: “He said goodbye on Sunday, but I thought he was joking. Ozil is different; there is no-one else like him in the world – it’s a shame and a big loss.”
Former coach Jose Mourinho was also surprised Madrid allowed Ozil to leave. “He is unique,” the Portuguese pondered. “The best number 10 in the world.” Two years ago, Mourinho had spoken of building a “young team for the future” at the Santiago Bernabeu. And Ozil was supposed to be a big part of that.
Six years on, Ozil is at Arsenal and his flag is not highflying. Gunners’ manager Emery seem not to love the German despite fans’ outcry.
Then comes Nicklas Bendtner’s book with a new twist of what forced Real Madrid into selling Ozil.
“The squad does not resemble itself anymore. Robin van Persie has been sold off in the offensive and has come in two Frenchmen, Olivier Giroud and Yaya Sanogo.
“The Germans Lukas Podolski and Mesut Ozil have also joined. Ozil is a game distributor and should have been at odds with Real Madrid because he was partying too much. He denies that, of course, stubbornly, also in the media,” parts of the book reads to show how Ozil’s party nature cost him the job.