'You could say he should have stayed at Madrid' - Did Ozil regret Arsenal move in 2013?
FT Desk
- 8 Mar 2022 11:50 CST
- 7 min read
Mesut Ozil’s advisor, Erkut Sogut, has rejected any notion that the player may have regretted leaving Real Madrid to join Arsenal earlier in his career.
The former Germany international made the move to the Premier League in 2013, when Arsenal agreed to sign Ozil for a fee believed to stand at around €50 million.
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The transfer made Ozil the most expensive German footballer in history at the time and one of the highest paid players in English football.
However, over the course of his time at the London club, Arsenal dropped from Champions League regulars to a mid-table side, while Madrid went on to win four Champions League trophies in four years.
As such, Ozil’s time in North London has been seen as a downturn in the player’s career, having failed to challenge for a Premier League trophy or seriously compare in the Champions League with the club.
’You could say he should have stayed at Real’
However, when asked about the possibility of Ozil regretting the decision to move to Arsenal at the reported request of his father in 2013, Sogut rejected the notion entirely.
“First of all, Mesut decided for private reasons not to work with his father anymore. That had nothing to do with his departure from Madrid,” said the consultant in an interview with Sport1.
“Of course you can always say afterwards that he should have stayed at Real or done something else.
“But moving to Arsenal wasn't a mistake. Mesut has had a great career! Nobody can take that away from him.”
Over the course of his time at the club, Ozil featured in 254 games for Arsenal and contributed 44 goals and 77 assists for the London club, before making a move to Fenerbahce in 2021 on a free transfer.
