Worried for his position on the first team and wanting to make more money Real Madrid aren’t willing to give him, Mesut Ozil is looking for a team that is willing to comply to his demands. Even though Manchester United have been mentioned quite often with the German, they don’t seem to be in the race to sign him.
Signed until 2016, it seems that Ozil has been looking for a contract extension and improvement for the past six months, but Real Madrid aren’t prepared to give him the €7 million a season he’s looking for. Neither is anyone else, or is there a team that feels that Ozil is worth the €45 million Real Madrid are asking for him.
The Manchester United connection? According to El Confidencial, Manchester United were approached by Real Madrid, asking if they’d like to sign the player. United denied any interest.
The Ozil issue goes beyond mere financial issues. It seems that the competition for the attacking midfielder positions just got a lot more intense with Gareth Bale making his way and claiming the left wing position. Isco seems to be right in the thick of things, and Ozil isn’t only worried about his place at Real Madrid, but the consequences that losing minutes or playing out of position might have on his standing with the German national team.
The competition is intense in Germany going into the 2014 World Cup, and Ozil is actually the elder statesman of the players in his position. Mario Gotze, Julian Draxler, Marco Reus, Toni Kroos, Thomas Muller. There’s only so much room for these players to fit in, and if Ozil begins to show any sort of decline, there are plenty of talented German players to take his place.
It’s weird to see one of the best players in the world suddenly become unsettled for no obvious reasons, but Real Madrid keep moving forward in an attempt to get one up over Barcelona. As good as Ozil has been, maybe moving him out of the lineup will solve something that with him, most of the time wasn’t good enough to finish on top of the La Liga and certainly not in the Champions League. However, without anyone willing to pick up the tab, it doesn’t seem he’s going anywhere.