If the first day of Bild’s serialisation of Mesut Ozil’s autobiography is anything to judge upon, the rest of the serialisation, and indeed the actual book, is going to create countless headlines.
A big part of Bild’s first bunch of snippets is Ozil detailing a huge row he had with Jose Mourinho. The pair got into an argument as Mourinho didn’t feel Ozil was putting in enough effort at Real Madrid.
Despite that, Mourinho and Ozil got on well usually, and the Portuguese manager had been key in getting him to sign for Madrid. Ozil had been minded to go for Barcelona, who he believes were playing the best football in the world at the time, but he was dismayed when Pep Guardiola didn’t show up to a meeting with the club.
Ozil was ‘convinced’ to sign for Barcelona because of their beautiful football and travelled to the city for a meeting. Expecting the now Manchester City manager to be there and convince him on the transfer, the German international was surprised when that wasn’t the case.
Guardiola was on holiday and had left it to the club to sort it out in his absence, but Ozil wasn’t impressed that the manager didn’t even telephone him: “Guardiola did not call me in the following days either. He didn’t even send an SMS. He did not send me a signal that he wanted me to sign. Accordingly, my enthusiasm for Barcelona steadily declined.
“Because of Guardiola’s behaviour, I did not want to go to Barcelona. Especially because Mourinho fought so much at the same time. He was so convincing. So heartfelt. So trying hard. He was the complete opposite of the Barca coach. So I decided for Jose Mourinho and Real Madrid.”
Barcelona and Guardiola got on just about alright without Ozil, and the now Arsenal player had a good period with Real Madrid, although it wasn’t without its problems. Ozil has been repeatedly linked with a move from Arsenal to Barcelona, albeit tentatively, but his open explanation of why he turned the club down for Madrid could put an end to that.
It should probably put an end to any idea of a Manchester City move too.
