Mesut Ozil snubs Real Madrid legend in best XI he has played with

Mesut Ozil perhaps does not get enough credit for how good he was in his prime. He came up through the ranks at Schalke before moving to Werder Bremen. He impressed there and at the 2010 World Cup with Germany, which ultimately earned him a move to Real Madrid that summer. The midfield maestro would go on to spend three years playing in the Royal White jersey and was one of the most popular figures amongst the fans during his time at Santiago Bernabeu.

Despite being one of the top players in Europe during his three years at Real Madrid, Ozil would somewhat surprisingly end up leaving in the summer of 2013 to join Arsenal. It would be an understatement to say that many supporters were disappointed that he left.

Ozil would go on to have a very good run at Arsenal as well although he had lost his place in the team by the end of it. It is worth mentioning that he won the World Cup with Germany in 2014.

The latter phases of Ozil’s career was not much to write home about. He played for Fenerbahce and Istanbul Basaksehir but struggled to remain fit and ultimately decided to retire earlier this year.

Ozil snubs Real Madrid legend in best XI he has played with

While speaking to ZPOR and as tweeted out by EuroFoot, Ozil named the best XI of players he has played with through the course of his career. It was Manuel Neuer, Philipp Lahm, Sergio Ramos, Jerome Boateng, Marcelo, Xabi Alonso, Santi Cazorla, himself, Alexis Sanchez, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Of course, one glittering name missing from that XI is that of Iker Casillas. The Spaniard was the club captain during Ozil’s time at Real Madrid.

That is not to say that Neuer is not a spectacular goalkeeper himself. And it is perhaps understandable why Ozil would pick him. They came up through the ranks at Schalke and won the World Cup together with Germany.