Mesut Ozil has officially signed for Spanish giants Real Madrid as Premier League clubs Chelsea and Manchester United miss the chance to secure the talents and play-making abilities of the 21 year old German international.
At a bargain, Real Madrid payed somewhere in the realm of £12m to Bundesliga side Werder Bremen for the midfielder who led Germany to the semi finals of the World Cup. Madrid faced a ‘buy now or risk cup tie’ scenario as Bremen are set to take on Serie A side Sampdoria in a Champions League playoff on Wednesday.
The acquisition of Ozil by Madrid signals another defeat in the ongoing war between the Premier League and La Liga in snatching up the world’s best talent. Manchester United looked most poised to make an offer for Ozil after Chelsea signed Brazilian midfielder Ramires from Benfica last week for £18m.
Ozil would have been a brilliant fit at Manchester United as the legend of Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs slowly but surely starts to fade with age. As current United midfielders Anderson and Michael Carrick continue to struggle with form and regular first team action, Ozil seemed a good bet to replace Paul Scholes along Darren Fletcher in the coming years.
As a United supporter, the Ozil news comes as a major disappointment and shock, especially since Sir Alex Ferguson and the club just splashed some £7m on Portuguese striker Bebe without ever having seen him play live. Such it is that United miss a great chance to secure Ozil’s talent as Madrid reload for another run at Barcelona and European glory.
