Following the arrival of Gareth Bale, Real Madrid may have made a huge mistake by letting Mesut Ozil leave the club, a decision that could come back to haunt the decision makers.
At Monday lunchtime, there were about 20,000 Madridstas gathered at the Santiago Bernabeu to welcome Wales international, Gareth Bale to the club who signed for the La Liga giants for a world record deal. There were smiles all around the park as a new Galactico was welcomed to a club that is pretty much used to players whose stature can’t be matched by many out there.
However, during the presentation, there were loud chants by the Madrid faithful urging Florentino Perez to not let Mesut Ozil leave. The German international had been a fan favourite for three years and it was indeed surprising to see him being sacrificed in order to compensate for Bale’s arrival.
In the first three games, Carlo Ancelotti has already hinted at his favourites. Cristiano Ronaldo will never start from the bench while having a 100 million euro player as a benchwarmer is also never going to happen. Isco has been brilliant in the first three games while Luka Modric has also started showing the form that made him one of the finest players in England during his time at Tottenham.
Ozil looked very likely to stay at Madrid as the Bale saga dragged for an eternity. However, the German’s departure was tailored overnight. It will be hard for the club to replace a player who provided 71 assists in three years at the Bernabeu. Superb vision, deft touches and amazing passes were what made Ozil so integral to Jose Mourinho’s version of Madrid. The former Werder Bremen star had qualities that any past or present Galactico would be proud of but it appears that it was not enough.
At times when Ronaldo was not himself, it was Ozil who used to take the mantle as a number 10 who would rarely disappoint. This season, that role was given to Isco which spelt an end to Ozil’s time at the club.
Indeed Arsenal, despite being thrifty in negotiations in recent times, needed no second invitation when they found out that the player was transfer listed. The Gunners splashed the cash, broke their club record fee and got a signing that has pleased their fans and also shown how highly Arsene Wenger rates him.
Real Madrid in the past let go of iconic stars Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder, both of whom were forced out of the club to make way for “bigger” stars. Since then both the men have been part of the treble winning Bayern Munich and Inter Milan sides respectively.
Ozil is perhaps another player who could come back to haunt the Spanish giants, even though Arsenal have been trophy-less for the past eight years, Ozil can perhaps be the spark which can change things for the Gunners this season.
However, now that they have Gareth Bale in the squad, Madrid have potentially got the last piece of the puzzle that will help them mount a title assault and perhaps even push for La Decima, something that the club has been obsessed with in the past few years. Having a player like Bale may not be the defining point but it will help Carlo Ancelotti in more ways than one.
During his time at Tottenham, Bale showed that he has the potential to become a world class player. However, thanks to the transfer fee, the Welshman will always be under pressure to perform even better than he did at White Hart Lane. In recent times, many players have struggled to live up to their strong billing and that is something that will be on the player’s mind even though he hasn’t admitted it.
Although Cristiano Ronaldo is still the boss in the dressing room, Bale knows that he will have to stamp his authority on the pitch as well and has to make sure that he doesn’t stay under the Portugal international’s shadow for long.
However, during the presentation, there were loud chants by the Madrid faithful urging Florentino Perez to not let Mesut Ozil leave. The German international had been a fan favourite for three years and it was indeed surprising to see him being sacrificed in order to compensate for Bale’s arrival.
In the first three games, Carlo Ancelotti has already hinted at his favourites. Cristiano Ronaldo will never start from the bench while having a 100 million euro player as a benchwarmer is also never going to happen. Isco has been brilliant in the first three games while Luka Modric has also started showing the form that made him one of the finest players in England during his time at Tottenham.
Ozil looked very likely to stay at Madrid as the Bale saga dragged for an eternity. However, the German’s departure was tailored overnight. It will be hard for the club to replace a player who provided 71 assists in three years at the Bernabeu. Superb vision, deft touches and amazing passes were what made Ozil so integral to Jose Mourinho’s version of Madrid. The former Werder Bremen star had qualities that any past or present Galactico would be proud of but it appears that it was not enough.
At times when Ronaldo was not himself, it was Ozil who used to take the mantle as a number 10 who would rarely disappoint. This season, that role was given to Isco which spelt an end to Ozil’s time at the club.
Indeed Arsenal, despite being thrifty in negotiations in recent times, needed no second invitation when they found out that the player was transfer listed. The Gunners splashed the cash, broke their club record fee and got a signing that has pleased their fans and also shown how highly Arsene Wenger rates him.
Real Madrid in the past let go of iconic stars Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder, both of whom were forced out of the club to make way for “bigger” stars. Since then both the men have been part of the treble winning Bayern Munich and Inter Milan sides respectively.
Ozil is perhaps another player who could come back to haunt the Spanish giants, even though Arsenal have been trophy-less for the past eight years, Ozil can perhaps be the spark which can change things for the Gunners this season.
However, now that they have Gareth Bale in the squad, Madrid have potentially got the last piece of the puzzle that will help them mount a title assault and perhaps even push for La Decima, something that the club has been obsessed with in the past few years. Having a player like Bale may not be the defining point but it will help Carlo Ancelotti in more ways than one.
During his time at Tottenham, Bale showed that he has the potential to become a world class player. However, thanks to the transfer fee, the Welshman will always be under pressure to perform even better than he did at White Hart Lane. In recent times, many players have struggled to live up to their strong billing and that is something that will be on the player’s mind even though he hasn’t admitted it.
Although Cristiano Ronaldo is still the boss in the dressing room, Bale knows that he will have to stamp his authority on the pitch as well and has to make sure that he doesn’t stay under the Portugal international’s shadow for long.
