Mesut Ozil did not spend a long time at Real Madrid. In fact, he was only with the club for three full seasons. It does feel a lot longer though, thanks to the magnitude of his achievements in the royal white jersey. He is remembered fondly by the fans to this day, even though it has been close to a decade since he left in order to join Arsenal.
Ozil recently announced his retirement from the game, after struggling with injuries lately. And as a result, this is a great time to look back at a career, that has become a bit underrated as time has progressed.
Ozil started his career at Schalke before moving to Werder Bremen. And in 2010, he would end up joining Real Madrid, when Jose Mourinho was the manager of the club. It looks like the Portuguese manager played a big part in convincing him to move to Santiago Bernabeu as there was a chance for him to join Barcelona as well.
As reported by MARCA, Ozil said about his decision to join Real Madrid:
"“That was a decision between Real Madrid and Barcelona. And in the end it wasn’t a matter of money. I don’t know if this is known, but I visited Madrid and Barcelona at that time and the difference was Jose Mourinho. Mou gave me a VIP visit to Real Madrid. He took me to see the stadium and all the trophies they had won. That gave me goosebumps. The visit in Barcelona was less enthusiastic and what was more disappointing is that Pep Guardiola didn’t even bother to meet me. Before that trip I really liked Barcelona’s style of football and I could really imagine playing with them, but Madrid went with everything. So Jose Mourinho was definitely the most important factor in my decision. After my visits, my decision was one hundred percent clear: I wanted to be a madridista.”"
Ozil reveals why he joined Real Madrid over Barcelona
Real Madrid fans must be glad that Ozil picked Real Madrid over Barcelona because what followed was a short but iconic run in the royal white jersey for the German maestro. According to stats from Transfermarkt, he scored 27 goals and provided 81 assists in 159 appearances for the club.
Yes, Ozil provided a staggering 81 assists in just three seasons with Real Madrid. And during this point of time, he formed a telepathic partnership with Cristiano Ronaldo. Many believe that the Portuguese legend played the best football of his career during this period of time.
Ozil’s time at Real Madrid would ultimately come to an end when Mourinho left. The German midfielder maestro would end up joining Arsenal in 2013.