I did not have Ancelotti’s trust at Real, says Ozil

German star signs for Arsenal in club-record £42.5 million deal.


Agencies September 03, 2013
“Wenger gives me the confidence that I can develop further and I want to be in top form for the World Cup next year,” says Mesut Ozil.

MADRID: Mesut Ozil quit Real Madrid to join Arsenal because he realised he no longer had the confidence of Real coach Carlo Ancelotti, according to the Germany playmaker.

The Premier League club smashed their transfer record to sign Ozil for £42.5 million on Monday, days after he said he would stay with the nine-time European champions for a fourth season.

Ozil sulked after Ancelotti substituted him in last month’s La Liga match at Granada and the Italian then left him on the bench for Sunday’s 3-1 victory at home to Athletic Bilbao.

“I was certain...that I would stay at Real Madrid,” said Ozil. “Then I realised that I didn’t have the confidence of the coach and the officials after all.

“I am a player who needs that confidence and I saw that I would have that at Arsenal and that is why I am going there.”

Ozil’s departure, which followed Real’s purchase of winger Gareth Bale from Tottenham Hotspur for a world-record fee of €100 million, prompted head-scratching in Spain as he was one of Real’s most creative squad members.

He made 31 assists in his last two seasons, the most of any player in La Liga, and had developed a lethal partnership with Real’s Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ozil said he was happy to be joining up with Germany team mates Lukas Podolski and Per Mertesacker at Arsenal and the fact that the London club’s manager Arsene Wenger spoke German would help him to settle in.

“Wenger gives me the confidence that I can develop further and I want to be in top form for the World Cup next year,” he said. “I spoke to him for a long time on the telephone and he told me his expectations and he trusts me, which I need as a player.

“I am a player who always wants to play a whole match, the full 90 minutes. I am looking forward to the new challenge. In talking with Wenger, I immediately sensed what had been missing, the wholehearted trust in me. I will pay back the club and the fans in each game. Now I want to help the club to finally win a title.”

Dithering United overtaken in transfer rush

After an unconvincing start to the season, Manchester United supporters witnessed the equally unusual sight of their club frantically scrambling for players in the closing moments of transfer deadline day.

Their patience was finally rewarded, three hours after the deadline passed, when United confirmed the signing of midfielder Marouane Fellaini from Everton.

But for all his rugged qualities and eye for goal, the gangly Belgian with the afro haircut was not quite the stellar acquisition the club’s fans had been hoping for, and the details of the transaction made for uncomfortable reading as well.

Everton revealed that United had paid £27.5 million for the 25-year-old, which was £4 million more than they would have had to part with had they exercised an option in the player’s contract that expired at the end of July.

United had also seen a joint-bid of £28 million for Fellaini and his Everton team-mate Leighton Baines rejected in late August, suggesting the English champions were forced into a corner when they returned for the Belgian late on Monday.

With Uruguayan full-back Guillermo Varela the only other close-season arrival at Old Trafford, it proved a chastening first transfer window for new manager David Moyes and incoming chief executive Ed Woodward.

United saw tentative approaches for players including Cesc Fabregas and Thiago Alcantara knocked back in the early stages of the transfer window, while last-ditch moves for Real Madrid left-back Fabio Coentrao and Athletic Bilbao midfielder Ander Herrera came to nothing.

There were also reports of a late approach for Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira, but when the dust settled, Fellaini was the last man standing.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 4th, 2013.

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COMMENTS (3)

Zalmai | 10 years ago | Reply

Mesut Ozil is an excellent player and his name is Persian not Arabic.

sHaMayl | 10 years ago | Reply

plz use masood intsted of mesut in future!!!!! its propar arab name fr muslim!!!!

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