Mourinho: ‘Who told Ozil Tottenham would want to sign him?’

Stefan Bienkowski

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 2 min read

Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho has hit back at Mesut Ozil’s claim that he would rather retire than play for the North London club. 

During a Twitter Q&A on the Arsenal player’s account on Monday night, Ozil was asked if he would rather sign for Spurs or retire from playing altogether. 

“Easy question. Retire!” said the player, who is expected to make a move to Fenerbahce before the end of the January transfer window. 

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However, this somewhat jovial remark hasn’t gone down well with Mourinho, who coached Ozil at Real Madrid from 2010-2013. 

When asked about Ozil’s remarks about having no interest in playing for Tottenham, Mourinho said: “Who told him that Tottenham would be interested in signing him?”

Although Tottenham would have very little interest in signing a player from a rival club – never mind one that still earns £350,000 a week at Arsenal – the Premier League side do seem to be on the lookout for a creative midfielder in the January transfer window. 

Spurs were heavily linked with Stuttgart winger Nicolas Gonzalez, who is currently in the midst of an impressive season in the German Bundesliga. 

The Argentine forward has already scored five goals and picked up a further two assists in 11 games for the German side. 

However, when asked about the reports in Gonzalez and whether Tottenham were planning on making a bid for the player, Mourinho gave a very short answer: “No.” 

Such is the demand for an attacking midfielder that can create chances from the middle of the pitch, that reports have begun linking former Tottenham playmaker Christian Eriksen with a return to London. 

The Danish international has been frozen out of Antonio Conte’s Inter side and the club have been rather open about the prospects of offloading the midfielder in the January window. 

However, it remains to be seen whether Mourinho or Tottenham would be interested in a player that was so eager to leave the club not so long ago.