Ozil

B. Munich

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Özil is a professional footballer. He gets handsomely paid to play football and not to make political statements.

His naive closeness to Erdogan already cost him his career in the German National team.
One would have thought he learned from this disaster. Well obviously he didn't.
 

Khalif_20

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Acquiring Özil would prove to be a transfer masterstroke, perhaps even a turning point in fate of this club. Hear me out.

I believe in long-term planning, something that's sorely lacking at United. Mesut is the sort of player who retains world class qualities into mid thirties.

We'd deploy him in the Maradona role of Cruyff's fabled 3-3-1-3 formation - essentially an offensive 3-5-2, also obviously used by Argentina in the 1986 WC victory.

With the lineup I present below, mere four reasonable purchases would turn us not only into the best team in the world, but also revolutionaries in entertainment and aesthetic aspects.

Amad - Greenwood - Hakimi
-----------------Özil
-------Pogba--------Bruno
----------------Mejbri
Mengi--Upamecano--Tuanzebe
--------------Onana

This is the United future I dream of.
 

blue blue

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You're seriously under-estimating the leverage the CCPA has on the western brands. They've successful censured other sports like basketball when their players have taken a political stance against the Chinese regime.
Mesut Özil China row: western brands be warned, self-censorship won't protect you



Arsenal gave Ozil a bumper contract once they lost Sanchez to United and were desperate to hold on to their only star player at that time. Once Wenger left, neither Emery nor Arteta have fancied Ozil and seem to believe that they'd be better off with younger, cheaper players rather than an excellent, albeit mature player. Arsenal are crying out for a creative midfielder and the only reason why they aren't playing Ozil is because they want him off the wage books.



Moving players off on such massive wages is always non-trivial. I'd blame Arsenal for being desperate to tie down a star and then completely move that star out of favour within a year after. But not sure Arsenal can do much if Ozil is happy to warm the bench and there are no takers for him.



Bale has done the same for the better part of the last two years and he was roundly celebrated here. The only reason he is playing any club football this season is because Madrid were desperate and they accepted the first offer which pays only about a third of his wages. No rational person would terminate their 250-350k / week contract and take a pay cut at this stage of their career. Particularly, when he has had a fruitful career so far and most likely his best days are behind him.
All valid points but -

a. I don't think Arsenal or Ozil give a monkeys about the manufactured outrage of the CCP. They already have sponsorship deals in place and would not want to be seen to be cowing to any pressure from a government with human rights issues.
b. I find it really hard to believe there are absolutely no takers for Ozil. £40k a week would have saved those 55 employees.
c. Ozil deserves a huge black stain on his record if he is milking Arsenal and refusing to go anywhere at all. I'm sure his agent could get on the phone to a couple of his previous clubs in Germany. At £40k a week I'm convinced somebody would take him.
d. I haven't watched a huge amount of La Liga but from what I've seen Bale performed much better than Ozil ever did so the comparison isn't strictly fare. I'm not suggesting Ozil should terminate his huge contract. I'm just saying his agent or him could have found a club that would take him on loan with Arsenal subsidizing his pay packet. Something doesn't stack up. He's not going to have played for the last year of his contract and Arsenal could have saved themselves £2m quid if he went somewhere for £40k a week. The club look like mugs for allowing this to happen and Ozil looks like a money grabber who doesn't care about how bad this looks for him or the sport in general.
 

nuanced

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All valid points but -

a. I don't think Arsenal or Ozil give a monkeys about the manufactured outrage of the CCP. They already have sponsorship deals in place and would not want to be seen to be cowing to any pressure from a government with human rights issues.
b. I find it really hard to believe there are absolutely no takers for Ozil. £40k a week would have saved those 55 employees.
c. Ozil deserves a huge black stain on his record if he is milking Arsenal and refusing to go anywhere at all. I'm sure his agent could get on the phone to a couple of his previous clubs in Germany. At £40k a week I'm convinced somebody would take him.
d. I haven't watched a huge amount of La Liga but from what I've seen Bale performed much better than Ozil ever did so the comparison isn't strictly fare. I'm not suggesting Ozil should terminate his huge contract. I'm just saying his agent or him could have found a club that would take him on loan with Arsenal subsidizing his pay packet. Something doesn't stack up. He's not going to have played for the last year of his contract and Arsenal could have saved themselves £2m quid if he went somewhere for £40k a week. The club look like mugs for allowing this to happen and Ozil looks like a money grabber who doesn't care about how bad this looks for him or the sport in general.
Arsenal (and the PL) have real financial consequences if they antagonize the CCP, irrespective of the current sponsorships. Both of them, wouldn't want to lose access to about half of a billion Chinese fans.

While I agree Ozil might have been able to find a club to go out on loan, I think there would be a few factors preventing that:
1. He hasn't played regularly for about 2 years now and smaller clubs would have been less likely to take a punt on him. The uncertainty due to Covid, would have only limited his options further.
2. Arsenal hoping that Ozil takes a paycut and leaves, to keep alive his chances of making the German team for the Euros. Not sure if he is still involved in the German setup, but he seems to have completely given up on his International career at this time.
3. While I don't necessarily believe this, but Arsenal might think that keeping him as a hedge for injuries to key players is more useful than paying him 200k / week to play for someone else.
4. Ozil is a very specialized type of player. He is useful to make a good side great, but put him in a mediocre side and his weakness like lack of workrate gets accentuated instead of his strengths like passing, ball control and vision. This probably limits his options a lot.


Yea, so Arsenal do look like mugs (and they're not the only ones like that around) and Ozil looks to have given up on his career at the top most level. Both not coming out well in this, but I'm fully behind the player whose career has a handful of years left of a short sporting career.
 

swred

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I personally reckon it's a bit of both, Ozil isn't good enough/doesn't fit in the system, so they've tried to freeze him out.
He's sat there thinking, well screw this, i've got a bumper contract for the next 9 months, i'm not getting that anywhere else, so unless someone else offers me what i want, i'll take the X million quid for the next 9 months & sign on a free somewhere next summer/retire. Much to the same effect as Sanchez for us.

There's probably also a bit of Arsenal asking too much money for him as well.
 

Champagne Football

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Acquiring Özil would prove to be a transfer masterstroke, perhaps even a turning point in fate of this club. Hear me out.

I believe in long-term planning, something that's sorely lacking at United. Mesut is the sort of player who retains world class qualities into mid thirties.

We'd deploy him in the Maradona role of Cruyff's fabled 3-3-1-3 formation - essentially an offensive 3-5-2, also obviously used by Argentina in the 1986 WC victory.

With the lineup I present below, mere four reasonable purchases would turn us not only into the best team in the world, but also revolutionaries in entertainment and aesthetic aspects.

Amad - Greenwood - Hakimi
-----------------Özil
-------Pogba--------Bruno
----------------Mejbri
Mengi--Upamecano--Tuanzebe
--------------Onana

This is the United future I dream of.
This is probably the most bizarre post I've read on here in a long time. So let's sign an overpaid underperforming spoiled diva who lost his hunger to perform at the top as soon as the ink was dry on his new Arsenal mega-contract, a player who's stinker attitude would destroy the Man Utd dressing room, when Ole has worked very hard to root out the rotten eggs from the previous disastrous managers and send them packing.
 

diarm

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Acquiring Özil would prove to be a transfer masterstroke, perhaps even a turning point in fate of this club. Hear me out.

I believe in long-term planning, something that's sorely lacking at United. Mesut is the sort of player who retains world class qualities into mid thirties.

We'd deploy him in the Maradona role of Cruyff's fabled 3-3-1-3 formation - essentially an offensive 3-5-2, also obviously used by Argentina in the 1986 WC victory.

With the lineup I present below, mere four reasonable purchases would turn us not only into the best team in the world, but also revolutionaries in entertainment and aesthetic aspects.

Amad - Greenwood - Hakimi
-----------------Özil
-------Pogba--------Bruno
----------------Mejbri
Mengi--Upamecano--Tuanzebe
--------------Onana

This is the United future I dream of.
:lol:

I'll have what she's having!
 

pcaming

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Özil is a professional footballer. He gets handsomely paid to play football and not to make political statements.

His naive closeness to Erdogan already cost him his career in the German National team.
One would have thought he learned from this disaster. Well obviously he didn't.
That's stupid mentallity especially when we look at our own Rashford.
 

monosierra

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That's stupid mentallity especially when we look at our own Rashford.
I agree that what a professional does in his own time outside work is his own business. But the contract between the professional and his employer is also their own business, subject to employment laws. If said contract prohibits behavior outside work that negatively impacts the employer, then the employer can "punish" the employee within their legal rights. Without knowing the specifics of Ozil's contract, it is difficult to ascertain what is fair in a contractual sense. In a moral sense, assuming each party is acting in good faith, then one could question Arsenal's relative weighing of tis fiduciary respoinsibilites and its broader, moral mission (If it has one in the first place!)
 

roonster09

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Özil is a professional footballer. He gets handsomely paid to play football and not to make political statements.

His naive closeness to Erdogan already cost him his career in the German National team.
One would have thought he learned from this disaster. Well obviously he didn't.
Why? He has every right to express his opinions.
 

Bwuk

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I’ve always loved Ozil. On his day he's better than anyone in that Arsenal side.

It's surprising to me, especially now they have Partey who can help solidify the midfield that they don't want him.
 

Idxomer

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Acquiring Özil would prove to be a transfer masterstroke, perhaps even a turning point in fate of this club. Hear me out.

I believe in long-term planning, something that's sorely lacking at United. Mesut is the sort of player who retains world class qualities into mid thirties.

We'd deploy him in the Maradona role of Cruyff's fabled 3-3-1-3 formation - essentially an offensive 3-5-2, also obviously used by Argentina in the 1986 WC victory.

With the lineup I present below, mere four reasonable purchases would turn us not only into the best team in the world, but also revolutionaries in entertainment and aesthetic aspects.

Amad - Greenwood - Hakimi
-----------------Özil
-------Pogba--------Bruno
----------------Mejbri
Mengi--Upamecano--Tuanzebe
--------------Onana

This is the United future I dream of.
That's it, we should close the forums for today.
 

SilentWitness

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It’s amazing how he’s managed to get some Arsenal fans on side when he’s essentially sucking transfer funds from the club. :lol:
 

Luke1995

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The supporting cast is pretty different to be fair. He's an amazing player to have when everyone else on the side is world class, will finish what he creates and/or bust their ass to defend.
Arteta's failure is also Wenger, Emery and Ljungberg failures. If 4 differents managers start dropping you because you don't do enough, maybe you're the issue.
Money and politics and repeated digs at the board didn't help of course.
When did Wenger ever drop Ozil though ? He even gave him a massive contract before leaving (under the view that he would actually remain the manager)

I think Wenger never wanted to leave and the board told him ''look, leave on your terms or we'll have to fire you'' then he made it appear like it was his decision.
 

Ish

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This is probably the most bizarre post I've read on here in a long time. So let's sign an overpaid underperforming spoiled diva who lost his hunger to perform at the top as soon as the ink was dry on his new Arsenal mega-contract, a player who's stinker attitude would destroy the Man Utd dressing room, when Ole has worked very hard to root out the rotten eggs from the previous disastrous managers and send them packing.
And said poster believe in long term planning!
 

arthurka

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Özil hasn't covered himself in glory but Arsenal look absolutely terrible in this debacle. Don't care what he did or what he said but paying him these amounts and not even using him to spread squad load is just dumb.
 

United58

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Seems to be having a great time regardless :lol: Anyone would be, on that money!
 

kidbob

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Why not just play him for this season? I seem to remember he did well when Arteta first came in and they are desperately lacking in creativity. It's not like they aren't paying him anyway.
 

Mogget

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It’s amazing how he’s managed to get some Arsenal fans on side when he’s essentially sucking transfer funds from the club. :lol:
Why? Ozil isn't in the wrong.

Supporting a club doesn't mean supporting every decision they make.
 

SilentWitness

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Why? Ozil isn't in the wrong.

Supporting a club doesn't mean supporting every decision they make.
I’m not on Ozils or Arsenal's side to be honest. They’ve both been trash in this situation.

But his wage is and has been eating up your transfer budget, there is no denying it.

If I had a player that was on the wages he is and he’s sitting making tweets instead of playing (despite it not being his fault) I’m not going to be made up for the lad and supporting him. I’d want him gone ASAP.
 

Mogget

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I’m not on Ozils or Arsenal's side to be honest. They’ve both been trash in this situation.

But his wage is and has been eating up your transfer budget, there is no denying it.

If I had a player that was on the wages he is and he’s sitting making tweets instead of playing (despite it not being his fault) I’m not going to be made up for the lad and supporting him. I’d want him gone ASAP.
I guess you and I are different then.

I don't support Ozil, but I don't blame him one bit for not wanting to take a wage cut and leave.
 

KW2006

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Özil is a professional footballer. He gets handsomely paid to play football and not to make political statements.

His naive closeness to Erdogan already cost him his career in the German National team.
One would have thought he learned from this disaster. Well obviously he didn't.
So all players should shut up and don't talk about BLM?
 

SilentWitness

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I guess you and I are different then.

I don't support Ozil, but I don't blame him one bit for not wanting to take a wage cut and leave.
You misunderstand. I don’t blame him either. I just wouldn’t support him. Some arsenal fans are.
 

Ludens the Red

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Acquiring Özil would prove to be a transfer masterstroke, perhaps even a turning point in fate of this club. Hear me out.

I believe in long-term planning, something that's sorely lacking at United. Mesut is the sort of player who retains world class qualities into mid thirties.

We'd deploy him in the Maradona role of Cruyff's fabled 3-3-1-3 formation - essentially an offensive 3-5-2, also obviously used by Argentina in the 1986 WC victory.

With the lineup I present below, mere four reasonable purchases would turn us not only into the best team in the world, but also revolutionaries in entertainment and aesthetic aspects.

Amad - Greenwood - Hakimi
-----------------Özil
-------Pogba--------Bruno
----------------Mejbri
Mengi--Upamecano--Tuanzebe
--------------Onana

This is the United future I dream of.
Pogba and Ozil in the same midfield, what could possibly go wrong ?
 

Pablo18th

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Acquiring Özil would prove to be a transfer masterstroke, perhaps even a turning point in fate of this club. Hear me out.

I believe in long-term planning, something that's sorely lacking at United. Mesut is the sort of player who retains world class qualities into mid thirties.

We'd deploy him in the Maradona role of Cruyff's fabled 3-3-1-3 formation - essentially an offensive 3-5-2, also obviously used by Argentina in the 1986 WC victory.

With the lineup I present below, mere four reasonable purchases would turn us not only into the best team in the world, but also revolutionaries in entertainment and aesthetic aspects.

Amad - Greenwood - Hakimi
-----------------Özil
-------Pogba--------Bruno
----------------Mejbri
Mengi--Upamecano--Tuanzebe
--------------Onana

This is the United future I dream of.
No he isn't Ozil is done at the top level even so at his best he was never half as good as Maradona or Cruyff. Are you being serious right now?
 

Pablo18th

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I’ve always loved Ozil. On his day he's better than anyone in that Arsenal side.

It's surprising to me, especially now they have Partey who can help solidify the midfield that they don't want him.
He's not better than Aubameyang who won a golden boot and did madness at wembley with THAT Arsenal side.
 

Mastadon

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The modern day Winston Bogarde. Well done to him for getting that salary for doing nothing. Mesut Bogarde the bum.
 

UpWithRivers

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I applaud Arsenal for this move. This is exactly what we should have done with Sanchez. Yeah great players but with the 'on their day' caveat always attached. Clubs pay these huge wages to players and then they dont live up to the standard or then cub moves on and the player no longer fits. But then the club is stuck with them and cant move on. They have to keep playing them and having them around when they are not wanted. Yeah from the players side you can say 'oh but what did they do wrong. the club owes them respect'. But the club and the managers job is not to pander to individuals but to look at the club as a whole. Arteta doesnt want him and wants to move on. The board never said oh but hes on 500 a week you have to play him. Good. Its up to Ozil to reduce his salary and move on if he wants to play.
 

nuanced

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When did Wenger ever drop Ozil though ? He even gave him a massive contract before leaving (under the view that he would actually remain the manager)

I think Wenger never wanted to leave and the board told him ''look, leave on your terms or we'll have to fire you'' then he made it appear like it was his decision.
Wenger has said that the timing of his departure wasn't his choice. You can only smile at the way things have gone at Arsenal after a modern day legend was forced out.
 

RedDevilUnited369

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Imagine if Rashford was dropped because of his work on free school meals. Dropped because the club felt he wasn’t concentrating on football and dealing with political issues.

Imagine the uproar.

This essentially what Arsenal have done to Ozil.

His statement gave us the clues.

“ I’m not allowed to play”

“I will continue to speak out on social injustice issues”

If you believe Arteta can’t get anything out of Ozil you being hoodwinked. The people above Arteta told him he cannot play and told Arteta to clean it up in the media.

Imagine how crap of a manager you have to be to not get anything out of Ozil. Even off the bench he can make difference in any of the competitions Arsenal are involved in.

Pretty weak how Arsenal buckled to China like that...no loyalty.
 

Khalif_20

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This is probably the most bizarre post I've read on here in a long time. So let's sign an overpaid underperforming spoiled diva who lost his hunger to perform at the top as soon as the ink was dry on his new Arsenal mega-contract, a player who's stinker attitude would destroy the Man Utd dressing room, when Ole has worked very hard to root out the rotten eggs from the previous disastrous managers and send them packing.
:lol:

I'll have what she's having!
Pogba and Ozil in the same midfield, what could possibly go wrong ?
No he isn't Ozil is done at the top level even so at his best he was never half as good as Maradona or Cruyff. Are you being serious right now?
In the Prem, Mesut is second only to Paul when it comes to passing, vision, creativity, flair, technique.

He's not playing only because he dared to stand up against the Chinese evil, Arsenal are disregarding his irrefutable playmaking mastery with a despicable political decision.

I have no doubt that he'd have somewhere between 17-25 league assists when used properly in his natural #10 role, flanked by Paul and Bruno attacking from deeper areas.

Free your minds of preconceptions, biased narratives and memes. If you truly understand Mesut's football talent you'll see his potential role for United transformation as clearly as I do.
 

Dudu

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Imagine if Rashford was dropped because of his work on free school meals. Dropped because the club felt he wasn’t concentrating on football and dealing with political issues.

Imagine the uproar.
This essentially what Arsenal have done to Ozil.
His statement gave us the clues.
“ I’m not allowed to play”
“I will continue to speak out on social injustice issues”
If you believe Arteta can’t get anything out of Ozil you being hoodwinked. The people above Arteta told him he cannot play and told Arteta to clean it up in the media.

Imagine how crap of a manager you have to be to not get anything out of Ozil. Even off the bench he can make difference in any of the competitions Arsenal are involved in.

Pretty weak how Arsenal buckled to China like that...no loyalty.
Why then, did Ozil play 11 games in a row after making those China comments? I think it's more of a financial issue or something is happening behind the scenes.

Then we hit the Covid-19 pause and when football returned again he disappeared off the face of a cliff. Not saying his comments aren't a factor, they obviously could be, but it doesn't appear to be the driving one.
In addition there's this weird PR battle going on between Ozil and Arsenal (that Ozil is clearly winning so far), from wage-cut refusal leaks to the Mascot Saga

Something has happened behind the scenes, otherwise he would have at least made the squad. We probably won't know anything until his contract is over though.
Personally think both sides have handled this poorly
 

RedDevilUnited369

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Why then, did Ozil play 11 games in a row after making those China comments? I think it's more of a financial issue or something is happening behind the scenes.

Then we hit the Covid-19 pause and when football returned again he disappeared off the face of a cliff. Not saying his comments aren't a factor, they obviously could be, but it doesn't appear to be the driving one.
In addition there's this weird PR battle going on between Ozil and Arsenal (that Ozil is clearly winning so far), from wage-cut refusal leaks to the Mascot Saga

Something has happened behind the scenes, otherwise he would have at least made the squad. We probably won't know anything until his contract is over though.
Personally think both sides have handled this poorly
Arsenal, who have numerous commercial interests in China including owning a chain of restaurants, later took the unusual step of releasing a statement distancing themselves from Ozil's Instagram post, adding "Arsenal have always adhered to the principle of not involving itself in politics."

“You have to understand the bigger picture," said Sogut. "The [Uighur situation] created problems for the whole Premier League, not just Arsenal. He expected to get more support from the club. It is not talking about politics, it is about human rights, putting people in detention centres. Imagine a football player comes out and says 'this is inhumane.' Is that politics or empathy?"

Ozil agent