Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville has become the latest high profile personality to blast Mesut Ozil after reports revealed that the high-earning German is against the club’s proposed pay cut.
The Gunners have asked their players to take a pay cut to help the club in this tough time.
However, there have been disagreements between both parties with the players initially refusing to take such a cut and looking for deferrals instead.
However, after much negotiation and the intervention of Mikel Arteta, most of their players eventually agreed to take the 12.5% pay cut.
Reports claimed that three Arsenal players have refused the pay cut, and one of them was Mesut Ozil.
This has angered Arsenal fans and football pundits who expect the German to even take the lead in this situation because he is the club’s highest earner.
Ozil earns £350k per week, and he has not justified his earnings since he signed the new contract.
Neville reckons that Ozil’s refusal just shows how badly football has become.
He said as quoted in the Sun: “It demonstrates further the complexity of what is happening at Premier League clubs.
“There is no doubt football is eating itself from the inside out. There are disagreements, not just from club to club but from clubs to players. There is nothing in agreement.
“There is maybe the odd club that has got its own house in order. But most clubs and players are not at war but disagreeing with what is happening.
“It’s a massive battle. Clubs need support but players don’t trust the clubs and this is a massive example of it.”
He added that Ozil’s refusal is a show of lack of togetherness in the Arsenal team:
“The principle of not being together as a group is indefensible.
“I wouldn’t want to be one of the three who haven’t agreed with the rest of the group, I think it will alienate and isolate them in everything moving forward.
“They are entitled to make their own decisions, you cannot rip up a player’s contract or force them to take a deferral.
“But when a group of players are voting on something, you go along with it.”
That is certainly damning from Neville, whatever Ozil does next, even if he does end up taking a cut, possibly even a larger one, it will never ever erase the fact that when he was called on to agree to a pay cut along with his teammates for the good of Arsenal, he flatly refused.
There is now nothing he can do other than leave the club as soon as possible.
Wow fear mongering.😔