The way Real Madrid see the world means that anyone that doesn’t want to join them or stay on the team has to be insane. So Mesut Ozil pushed for an exit from Arsenal; and Real Madrid really needed the money to help balance the bank accounts from the Gareth Bale acquisition and other “minor” signings they made. So why is it so necessary for the club to trash him at every opportunity?
The latest came from Assistant Manager Zinedine Zidane, comparing Ozil to Angel di Maria. The arrival of Isco and the impending arrival of Bale (at the time) made the match quite simple: Someone was going to have to see the bench a bit more often than usual. Carlo Ancelotti made it quite clear that Isco is a player that he intends to use as much as possible, so it was either Di Maria or Ozil who were going to pay, in minutes.
Zidane said Di Maria was willing to fight; Ozil wasn’t. Seeing himself as one of the best players in the world (and rightfully so), Ozil wasn’t going to be part of a move that turns him into a substitute or rotation player. He needs to play, and if not for Real Madrid, there are plenty of other clubs willing to take him on.
Real Madrid did sell him, after all. Ozil didn’t force anyone, nor was his release clause triggered by an outrageous bill. But only after Ozil arrived at Arsenal did we start hearing about his womanizing, or crush over a certain model, and other things that seem like lies.
First – it’s weird that a club president like Florentino Perez spends so much time trashing a player who has been praised quite often by pretty much everyone with the club over the last few seasons. Knowing Madrid and its tabloids, anything out of the ordinary Ozil would have been doing would have gotten out already. Nothing sells better than gossip. The weird thing is that it came out only after Ozil left. Real Madrid never wanted to let him go, and were insulted by the player actually wanting to leave them, and admitting the fact that their resources aren’t infinite.
At Arsenal, Ozil has a fresh start, even though it’s not like he failed in recent seasons. He played as well as anyone not called Cristiano Ronaldo, only wasn’t a favorite of the new manager who took Mourinho’s place. While his old club shouldn’t be praising him at every interview and opportunity a staff member is given, trying to belittle him at the same frequency seems jealous and petty, which isn’t really something you associate with a club of this size.