Following on from the post regarding Ozil’s views on China, fellow “JustArsenal” blogger Phil, sent me this article from The Sun newspaper, which shows just what an icon this man is in the footballing world and how he is promoting the name of “Arsenal”.
How Arsenal star Ozil is planning to fund 1,000 kids’ operations and feed 100,000 homeless people through charity work
HANGING on the kitchen wall inside Mesut Ozil’s multi-million pound North London house is a framed letter from his beloved mum.
Mrs Gulizar Ozil hung it there herself shortly after he signed for Arsenal from Real Madrid for £42.5million six years ago.
It reads: “Mesut, don’t forget, in life you are a guest in this world, like all of us.
“God gifted you with a certain talent but he didn’t give you this just to take care of yourself.
“If you don’t share your wealth with people who are in need then you are not my son.
It explains why the Gunners’ £350,000-a-week Muslim superstar is on a personal crusade to help the world’s starving, sick and homeless.
In an exclusive SunSport interview, his trusted German super-agent, lawyer and teacher, Dr Erkut Sogut, lifts the lid on the secret life of one of the world’s richest footballers.
On his wedding day to former Miss Turkey, Amine Gulse, last summer, Ozil promised to finance 1,000 operations for needy kids across the globe.
“Then, during last year’s World Cup, he told me ‘I want to do this bigger. Let’s change the lives of 1,000 kids, let’s do 1,000 operations’.
“I said ‘This will cost you millions’. But he replied ‘If I don’t share my money now, when will I? And with whom?’
“Mesut came from a very poor background, with his mum doing two cleaning jobs a day. He knows what it means not to have anything.
“And he said ‘Look, Erkut, I earn so much, I can’t spend it all on myself, so I can give much more’.”
Ozil admitted: “As a footballer I am fortunate and in a privileged position. Amine and I will bear the expenses for surgeries of 1,000 children in need.”
His wedding day gift also included feeding an astonishing 100,000 homeless people at 16 refugee camps and shelters in Turkey and Syria.
Ozil, 31, paid for the meals, Sogut organised the massive take-away operation and the Red Cross delivered the grub to the sites.
Sogut, 39, added: “Mesut told me, ‘This is my wedding present to the world. Today, the food is on me’.
“It cost Mesut a huge amount of money that day. But it was something he was very passionate about.”
Ozil had previously donated his 2014 World Cup winnings — about £240,000 — to fund surgery for 23 sick Brazilian children in conjunction with the BigShoe charity.
Sogut has a prized video of some of the hungry in the Turkish capital, Ankara, sending Ozil heartfelt thank-you messages. He then revealed the contents of Mrs Ozil’s letter which has inspired his charity missions.
Last month the agent flew to Ozil’s parents’ Turkish birthplace, Devrek, where the Arsenal No 10 is building a five-storey football academy for the town.
Ozil is also working with children’s charity Rays of Sunshine and a Barnet hospice, while five of the 15 seats in his Emirates box are always reserved for charity.
Sogut said: “Mesut loves helping children. He became great friends with a kid who had terminal cancer. Tragically, Charlie died seven months ago and the boy’s death really affected him.”
As did the horrific attempted carjacking near his home in July.
Videos of Kolasinac fighting off one of the knife-wielding thugs went viral and Ozil admitted: “Sead was really brave.
“I was scared for my wife. We were worried these guys had been targeting us.”
Almost a year to the day earlier, Ozil had quit playing for Germany, citing the “racism and disrespect” he had suffered in his homeland over his Turkish roots.
Despite being born in the German town of Gelsenkirchen and winning 92 caps for his country, he was castigated after being photographed with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan in London last May.
Ozil received hate mail and was blamed for Germany’s poor World Cup in Russia when they crashed out in the group stage.
He said: “I am German when we win but an immigrant when we lose. I no longer want to wear the German shirt.”
Ozil met Erdogan along with fellow German star, Manchester City’s Ilkay Gundogan, who is also of Turkish descent.
Many German politicians questioned Ozil’s loyalty to their country. But the Gunner insisted he would have been “disrespecting his ancestors’ roots” had he not posed for pictures, adding: “Is it because it is Turkey? Is it because I’m a Muslim?”
Sogut revealed the final straw came when the director of Ozil’s old school in Gelsenkirchen told him he was “no longer welcome at a planned event, despite paying for immigrant children’s education there for ten years”.
The agent added: “It was the main reason Mesut stopped playing for Germany.
“He told me, ‘If I am not even welcome at my own school how can I wear the national jersey?’ Whenever anyone asks him for help, he just gives.
“He has given jobs to seven of his childhood friends from Gelsenkirchen. They now work for him in Dusseldorf.
“His charitable work costs him millions but he earns millions so is happy to give back. I don’t know of another player who does it on this scale.
“But he doesn’t want to brag about it. Most Arsenal fans don’t care about these things anyway, just whether he is playing or not.”
Ozil has started both games under interim boss Freddie Ljungberg following Unai Emery’s sacking.
And Sogut, who has built Ozil a UK property portfolio to generate £100,000-a-month rental income when he retires, said: “Arsenal DNA is in Mesut’s blood. He loves the club.
“He has had offers from other Premier League clubs but he was clear, ‘If I am not staying at Arsenal then I will leave England’.
“He has never wanted to join another club here.”
And Ozil declared: “This is my home. I am proud to be an Arsenal player, I’m happy here.”
Sogut — affectionately nicknamed The Nerd by Ozil because of his love of libraries — negotiated both the German’s original Arsenal contract and his huge new £18.2m-a-year deal which ties him to the club until 2021.
On both occasions he spoke directly with previous boss Arsene Wenger.
Sogur recalled: “He was a fantastic guy. I have never met a coach like him.
“I have not seen his patience, kindness and calmness in many people. We always spoke in German and it was clear Arsene was very keen to get Mesut to Arsenal. I also dealt with Arsene on the new contract.
“Mesut had a lot of other opportunities at the time because he would have been a free agent and could have commanded a £40m signing-on fee elsewhere. But he never wanted to leave.
“Was this deal my best moment as an agent? No, it was when I helped a 17-year-old kid sign his first professional contract. That made me happier.”
But, he concedes, not as rich.
Now, Sogut owns two thriving 39 Steps coffee shops in Soho and Knightsbridge, lives in London and has an English wife and young son.
He also hosts regular seminars and has written a book on how to become a football agent.
Ozil owns two e-sports teams and Sogut added: “His teams have the best players from Europe, Brazil and India and it’s like running your own football club.”
So could he become Arsenal manager one day? “Who knows?” replied Sogut. “Maybe Chairman Ozil.”
That might give Arsenal a few more pounds for the transfer market!
View this post on Instagram
Add to this, the further news that a team in Nigeria has changed it’s playing name to include Ozil in the title and shows pictures of the team and it’s fans wearing the shirt with Ozil’s name on the back, one might just begin to realise what a iconic person this man really is.
We all have our views on his footballing abilities, but for those who denegrate him for other things, it might just make you realise how his name is bringing our club onto the world stage – and as a footnote, I love the T shirt Kolasinac is wearing in the picture! I believe Phil lent it to him from his collection!!!
Thanks for sending this Phil, I sincerely hope that, when he decides to stop playing, he becomes an Ambassador for the club and spreads our name throughout the world.
Ken 1945
I will always like him and support him in and out of football. If he leaves Arsenal today, is football, what he has achieved, and his charities (which I have read quite a lot about) will always follow his name anywhere he goes. Life is not just about football.
Nice one, Pat 👍
Vey well said! there is more to life than football!¡👍🏼
Well said Pat
What he is doing off the pitch is fantastic, and so inspiring, but that doesn’t excuse what he’s doing (or not doing) on the pitch. These are two separate issues.
His retirement a few years ago has clearly been time spent wisely.
I’m sure Ozil is a nice person, but football is a different matter. If Arsenal have to play a footballer because he is a philanthropist, they might as well choose David Beckham
Arsenal need their players’ 100% effort on the field and in the training, but Ozil simply can’t give us that
Regarding the footballers’ involvements in politics, people like Ozil, Guardiola and Pique have to stop using their powers in football world to influence other people
If they are really into politics, they have to be politicians and they should also speak out about other minorities’ suffering. Don’t just voice out your support on the ones that are related to your identity
It’s all hypocrisy.
Very caring about the oppression of one group but very quiet on another group being oppressed by someone I agree with.
sad but true … havent heard him express concerns about the real genocide in Yemen or on the Kurdish question … wonder why!!!!!!!!
So Goonster and rkw, do you think he asked who the children were when he paid for the operations, or who the childrenwere who got the food?
What about the football schools he has set up? Loook how David Beckham made sure the world knew what he was doing – Mesut has just got on with making life for ALL impoverished children a better experience.
But even if he was just singling out those with his religious beliefs, isn’t that praise enough anyway?
When one looks at the money the main religions have in property etc yet still do nothing for the weak and hungry following their beliefs in our society, those millionares who give back to society should be recognised – I wonder how much Stan Kronkie gives?
All true ken but misses the point .. The ONLY reason we are talking about ozil at all right now … Other than us Arsenal fans who are divided on the topic of his footballing contribution… is from his remarks on the Uygurs in China … Which are simplistic and expose a double standard
Let’s not drift into politics and war!
This article is about charity, belief, respect, love and making a difference.
It is a great article that supposed to inspire and unite us. To be in Christmas period makes it even more beautiful.
He should have a Christmas at Emirates and invite thousands of kids, other players and everyone supporting…
Greetings to all of you readers & JA team!
Hypocrites, so all of a sudden he should run a crusade for everybody?
if i say you care for your family only and not the rest of the human race, would that make you a hypocrite, i am sure there could be a homeless in your neighbourhood, do you care for him or you are a hypocrite for caring for those all related to you.
fight the battle you are most passionate about. And you @gotandidea come down from your hypocritical rocking chair
Stupid comments, do you comment on all the world current affairs on social media?? If a person comments on one and not the other one how does that make him hypocrite? You need to learn the meaning of being hypocrite first. Ppl like Ozil, pep and pique are human being as well apart from being football celebs so does that mean they don’t have the right to have an opinion or voice what they deem is correct. What’s worng with Arsenal fans they always find something to moan about if it’s not football then there is always something out player has done. You just pay to watch them play you don’t own them. Get a life dude.
This is a tough one for me. Thanks for the article, I was aware of some of his philanthropy but not the extent. Massive respect for everything he has done outside football including his recent highlighting the persecution of Muslims in China. All of this leaves a greater legacy than anything he has done or will do on the football pitch. Having said that, he is only been able to accomplish all of this because of his football skill. And that skill hasn’t been on show nearly enough for at least two years. My challenge to Ozil is this – use it as motivation to play the way you can to get another contract at Arsenal or elsewhere so you can continue all this amazing work.
To put it more simply, I admire the work the Gates Foundation is doing but wouldn’t want Bill lining up at CAM against Bournemouth on Boxing Day.
@Trudeau, beautiful comment. I concur 100%
The last paragraph tho 😅
Well said.
A great article Ken & Phil 👍
I take my hat off to Ozil and his Mum! It’s wonderful to read about all the good work he does. If only a lot more rich people were like that!
Oh and btw Ken.. that picture of Phil’s t shirt is very nice 😍😆
Sue-that is naughty you little minx😂😂
😝
I agree with you SUE all the rich want is more and get richer I think more stars ought to be like Mesut Ozil and help people who cannot be like us 1000 operations well done Mesut God Bless you
Özil always has been a class act and a talent this club hasn’t seen a lot in over 10 years.. football things aside he’s an iconic and respectable person
We have seen far better than Ozil over the last 10 years (Alexis, Santi), but more importantly, consistency superseeds talent every time! What good is talent when you rarely see it? Give me a Henderson or Milner over Ozil any day of the week.
Many footballers do the same. They all have many charities or personal charities around the world.
I used to volunteer for 2 charities projects founded / created by 2 Manchester United players (now Former players) back in 2010 during my University days. Took a gap year and travelled to East Africa and South Asia to help with these foundations.
Many players are giving so much but they don’t do it to be praised on social media. With Ozil it seems like he is doing the charities but then has this “Look at me over here, i am such a nice guy. Look at all the people I am helping”. He just seems turn it into some sort of PR stunt / propaganda for himself and brand.
We all have our own personal charities that we donate to. But that does not mean we neglect our jobs, disrespect our employers or managers just because we think donating to our preferred charities gives us the leverage to do whatever.
Again, most of us have more than 4 charities that we donate to on a monthly basis even if we are not millionaires. We give to the best of our ability but this does not exonerate us from giving our best for the companies we work for.
It’s good that he is a nice guy that gives charity. It is not only him that does it. Most players also give lots of money to good causes but the only difference is that many choose to keep it in-house instead of This “See me, look at me on Twitter thing”. It rubs me the wrong way. Whenever my charities take out their direct debit I don’t plaster it on social media.
We have been struggling on the pitch for seasons and he has been one of the biggest consistent / underperformers in the squad for more than 4 seasons. But whenever we point it out his PR and propaganda machine goes full pelt with red herrings “But he is paying for this many kids surgery. He is paying for this many kids dinner. He is standing up for this oppressed group. He just surprised these kids blah blah”
You are paid massive wages to make a difference to our Clubs standing in the League / CL first. Stop the propaganda / personal branding for once and do what you are paid handsomely for.
Thank you.
Well said goonster
Mate. I was surprised by the amount these footballers give to charities in private.
Remember hothead Mario Balotelli? He alwyas had this bad boy appearance. He used to love to dress up and buy expensive cars etc.
But on the surface we all used to call him a mercenary. Money grabber that moved to City for money blah blah.
My surprise came when he left City for Italy. A few seasons later i rumours started running about that Balotelli was one of the most charitable young player. I think i read that he gave about 50% of his weekly wages away to charities in Africa going back to when he signed for a City. He might have been doing the same even before he moved to City. He donated more than £25000 to a dog shelter that had burned down. Was helping displaced Sudanese children of war / child soldiers. Would drive around Manchester handing out £1000’s to homeless people and random members of the public.
But never saw any twitter PR stunts on a daily basis from him whenever he was calledout for his poor performances.
Earlier this year, Ronaldo auctioned his 2013 ballon di’or trophy for around £600,000 and he gave all to make a wish foundation, this year also Ronaldo fund the construction of Padiatric hospital in chile, in 2016 he made a generous donation to save the children for food and clothing and medical care to help the plight of children in Syria. He came to the aid of a 10-month-old baby in 2014, paying for a brain operation to prevent the child from having up to 30 seizures a day. This was what Ronaldo said some years ago, “My father always taught me that when you help other people, then God will give you double,” . “And that’s what has really happened to me. When I have helped other people who are in need, God has helped me more.” He is listed on top in 2015’s list of most Charitable Sports Celebrities around the world but still the guy even at 34 years of age he still gives his all on the pitch.
Wrong,if ozil ozil was doing it for self recognition how come it is never in the papers,the majority of people commenting didn’t have a clue of all the projects he is involved,on the contrary you were very happy to tell us about your 2 projects, that’s the definition of sef promotion, what do you want a pat on the shoulder?by the way when he was attacked every newspapers wanted an interview with him not to check on his well being but to sell more papers,did they ask him how he was doing?no HYPOCRITES!!
Promotional spiel.
Ozil can afford to throw millions around.
Ozil should never have been awarded a salary increase by Wenger
The squad is still suffering from this madness.
Every athlete do charity work, though most of them don’t say it to the public how and when they do it. The great Kanu has treated over 10000 kids through his Kanu heart foundation, Messi treated 1400 kids for kidney transplant when his wife gave birth to there second child, Sadio Mane built a hospital and school in his hometown for kids, Salah pays for over 1000 kids school fees in his hometown and even gave scholarships to 50 people to study abroad all expenses paid,Ronaldo do charity work almost every month from paying for kids medical fee and sending kids to school, but the fact they don’t say it or announce it to the world doesn’t mean they don’t do it, mbappe once said ” I am always happy when I help the less privileged kids”. Are you saying that because Ozil does all that it means he shouldn’t be given his all for the club or does that mean he should disrespect his manager or does that mean he should not give 100% for the club paying his salary. Everyone blamed Emery for dropping Ozil and put pressure on him to play him, immediately we started playing him we started dropping points, Freddie a club legend who only managed Arsenal for 6 matches also said that Ozil is not given his all and that’s not what Arsenal players should be doing, or are you also telling me that Freddie also have something against Ozil. He may be a good man and a nice fellow but we are not paying him 350k to treat the poor we are paying him to give his all for the club. Am sick of all this Ozil excuses.
If it wasn’t talked about, how did you come to know about what Kanu, Messi, Ronaldo, Mane & Salah did? Come on mate, we all have read about those wonderful gestures and never felt it was propaganda, so what gives in Ozil’s case? Get off the hare trip and see the article for what it is.
This is Arsenal football club not Arsenal charity club,we pay footballers to give there all on the pitch not to spend on charity, am actually disappointed that someone as old as Ken1945 will think that doing charitable work is more important than giving your all to the club that gives you all those money you are throwing around, Messi do it all the time but he still gives his all to Barcelona no athletes has been involved in charity work than Ronaldo but he gives all to his club, but when it come to Ozil some people believe you don’t have to talk because he’s a nice man.
lenoHappy, once again you are misleading the reader.
I ask you to point out anywhere in the article where I have said, even remotely, “that doing charitable work is more important than giving your all to the club…”.
If you can find one instance, PLEASE point it out, word for word and every word that you can identify, I will donate £10 to the choice of your charity.
OVER TO YOU LENOHAPPY – and what about you sending me £10 for each of the fourteen words that I have highlighted and I will donate it to “Save The Children” charity, once you have found out your misleading quote is total BS. Watch this space…..
JUST IN: Marseille have accepted Arsenals £3m + £2m addons bid for Isaac Lihadji. Contract until 2025 is on the table.
Granit Xhaka situation: Hertha Berlin bid of £22m has been rejected. Club want £35m minimum. Personal terms verbally agreed ‘in principle’ but he would prefer move to Bayer or Gladbach, as both clubs shown interest.
Thomas Partey is top priority in January and could be secured for ‘significantly less’ than his £45m release clause. Emre Can, Leandro Paredes and Abdoulaye Doucouré are also being pursued.
@kev-good to have you back mate.
Thanks Phil
I have always respected and admired Mezut Ozil and other professional sports persons donations of time and money to support charitable causes. It is not something they have to do, is often done quietly without fanfare and many others fritter away their wealth.
Also sports persons who speak out on political causes, often do so at great cost to themselves eg Norman the 400m athlete who won the silver medal at the Rome Olympics and gave passive support to the two American’s black power salutes, was never selected to represent Australia again. Similarly Colin Kapernick with his kneeling to protest black deaths at the hands of police, was blacklisted by the NFL.
I wonder why, as well as Ozil protesting China’s abhorrent treatment of its Muslim Uighar minority, he does not take up Turkey’s treatment of the Kurds with his good friend President Erdogan?
With regard to Ozil’s football performances, based on his talent and remuneration, “to whom much is given, much is expected.”
ozziegunner, perhaps you should ask your government why he was never selected to play for your country again?
The same with the NFL owners,or the players who didn’t follow up by showing their support of Kapernick.
I say again ozzie, Ozil has donated to a cause, not a religion – he didn’t ask for names , country of origin etc etc he just gave…I wonder if we could find out what Stan has given to just causes, apart from the millions to the Republican Party and Donald Trump???
Ken, I agree with what you say here but counsel that this topic is, I suppose inevitably, now getting a bit political. Not sure how far Admins will allow it to go. To be fair, I do not think we should even try to isolate football nor any other interest from politics. And for the simple reason that politics is about people and nowt in life, save arguably the planet itself, is more important.
What is disappointingly clear by some comments though, is that so many Gooners put the health of AFC before the health of downtrodden people. Coming from me, as a well known Ozil critic, I do hope some read my comment and that it makes them think deeper about what is TRULY most important in life It is not and can never be football! Perhaps, I should listen more to myself!
Well said, @ Jon fox.
As much as we love football and AFC, truth is, there’s more to life than football.
“I wonder why, as well as Ozil protesting China’s abhorrent treatment of its Muslim Uighar minority, he does not take up Turkey’s treatment of the Kurds with his good friend President Erdogan?”
Good comment. Now if Ozil were to speak about what is wrong in Turkey and Germany, he would transcend sports… few speak about their own nation’s atrocities, rather most speak about their own pain.
Sorry Ken, I should have checked my facts; it was the Mexico City Olympics in 1968,when Peter Norman split the two US athletes Smith (1st) and Carlos (3rd), who gave the black power salutes on the podium and were sent home in disgrace and banned for life. Norman was unofficially sanctioned and never selected to run for Australia again for wearing a small white “anti racism in sport” pin. Peter Norman died in 2006. When the event happened I was only 16, so I didn’t take it up with the government at the time. Shortly after I was politically active in being against Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War and the apartheid regime in South Africa, which as a rugby player had personal ramifications.
For evil to triumph all that is required is for good men and women to do nothing.
There is a big difference between Ozil and Ronaldo or Messi.The last 2 are just philantrophist,staying away from politics.They just put money to work without expecting publicity,without expressing political views or supporting dictatorships or regimes.Not the case for Ozil who is mixing footbal,charity and politics and openly supporting a dictatorial Erdogan regime.Is better for Ozil to take his political views back to Turkey and move to an Istanbul team.He may be a symbol in Turkey,but Arsenal needs footballers,not symbols.
Erdogan as dictator …lol! That’s why he keeps winning elections? What is trump to you then ?? People like you self obsessed westerners think everything in your countries is fair but anything that happens out side is not, so you need to interfere. Look what you guys have done in iraq, afghanistan n so many others. News flash nit everything that BBC n CNN tells you is truth. Come out of your little small buble n get your facts right before commenting n blaming others.
Mohsan, most of Erdogan’s opposition is in gaol, or disappear in the middle of the night. As for “winning elections”, they do not hold up to what most people accept as democracy, due to the gaoling of the opposition, politization of the armed forces and physical intimidation.
As for Donald Trump, the electoral college system to elect the US president is an anachronism in a supposed democracy, which dates back prior to the Civil War to give an advantage to the less populated then “slave owning” states, south of the Mason-Dixon Line. It is not a good example of a “western democracy”, given that Trump lost the popular vote by approximately 3 million votes.
absolute propoganda,wonderful for ozil doing all this humanatarian work. but i never knew humanatarian work was selective !. i take my hat off to ozil, if all in this article is absolutely true. unfortunately, what has this got to do with arsenal football club i ask ?. many footballers and other sports people give away money to their favourite charities, as do we, the ordinary people, we give as mush as we can afford, and thats the point, mesut can afford to do this, and it probably relieves his conscience at the same time for taking money from arsenal under false pretences.he is still a total fraud in FOOTBALLING terms, and thats what i am concerned with .we all help charities in our o expect a pat on the back, nor do you .such blatant propoganda is very unbecoming , especially from the authors of this piece.
The first rule of fight club, never talk about fight club.
Two entirely separate things concerning OZIL. First and more important than ANYTHING else, is that he is clearly a concerned citizen with good thoughts and compassionate actions. I applaud him for this, as do all right thinking people.
Second, but completely unconnected from point one, is that as our player he lets himslf and all of us and our club down regularly. This fine article puts in true perspective that mere football is to being actively and usefully compassionate, as a goldfish is to a whale, in importance to the whole world. In the grand scheme of things football is not important at all to a large majority of perfectly well adjusted and normal people on our planet nor in Britain either. In fact, it is easily arguable that, generally speaking, football fanatics are less well adjusted, en masse, than are non football folk. I throw this red herring into this debate for those who wish to, to think deeper than many do on here, about life in general.
I have been possibly Ozils fiercest critic on here for sometime, as a player; if not THE most fierce critic, then certainly among the most outspoken ones. I do not resile from my honestly expressed view in the slightest. But I do feel great sadness at the way such a fine man should have chosen to be such a lazy player. Such vast contrasts are not uncommon in life though. LIFE TEACHES US PRECISELY THAT TRUTH.
Ozil is not lazy. You are, in terms of football intellect!
Ozil is creator. That means supply of the ball is needed. When the supply dried up so did the assists. Creators also need 3D spaces to play, not 2D. Most of the new Arsenal forwards are 2D players. So even when Ozil is able to supply, the final goal does not happen, as the forwards did not score.
There is much, much more going on than you can imagine in CAPITAL letters!
There is plenty of data to show how Ozil’s passes are not converted into goals, how many goals are let in by poor defensive posturing/closing, etc.
When it comes to money, Wenger gave the transfer money to Ozil. Nothing more. Just as Alexis got transfer for himself from United. Both were willing to run their contracts down and earn the money. Now some fraction of the money is being used for charity…
Most fans have a weak knowledge of the game and finances… they also access to social media. The internet has allowed mediocre thoughts to dominate. Look at who is getting ‘elected’ by mobs of fools around the world in any country!
How weird this is!!!
Ozil didn’t write the article or publish it – if time had been take to read it properly, it states quite clearly that his agent was interviewed by a journalist…who then produced it for those who wanted to read it.
There was no self proclaimed “look at me” from the player at all…his friend and agent did the talking.
There were two more photographs that couldn’t be included, one of the young ten / eleven year olds who were at one of his acadamies, wearing The Arsenal shirts with pride.
Isn’t that promoting our club in a positive way? Another generation of gooners being introduced to The Arsenal, thanks to one of our players.
The other one was from one of the hospitals that showed some of the children who had successful operations, praising the benefactor.
That is all Phil and I wanted tp give out to the fanbase, especially after the reaction from some to the china incident, where he DID personally, criticise the government…I didn’t see any mention from him the about his this work regarding charities, drumming up self serving publicity as some on here seem to think this article is all about.
He didn’t use it to “self promote” did he?
The article was put together by Phil and myself, with AdminPat tidying up my abortive efforts – thanks Pat!!
As I finally said, what an Ambassador for The Arsenal – we have discussed his playing merits since time began and MA will decide on his future at the club he loves.
what a load of baloney dude !, get over yourself ans your love of the greatest fraud at our football club. it is typical of you and your rantings.funny thing is you and your buddy have fooled nobody with your nonsense piece. but i respect your right to free speech .
i respect your view gerry and i hope as someone who has gone through the hatred of myself who has given my best for a big multi national company and served them for thirty years and got many accolades for things i achieved only for them and perceived work mates to give up on you after suffering things that i wouldn’t wish on you or anyone in this life . and then to still have the humanity to do what this man does even in the adversity of the response of our judgements of kicking a bag of air round on a well manicured piece of grass for ninety minutes to adjudge his humanity for trying to make a difference in this sad world we live in then i wish i could say i would pray for your soul but i am not religious i just feel sad for you as a human being if you cant respect someone trying to do something nice for another person on this beautiful planet that we live on not black white red green yellow no a person a son mother father sister brother go listen to whats going on by a real hero Marvin Gaye and really listen to the words thats caring i know this is a blog about football but dont slag him off for his humanity
WHY THEN DID YOU BRING UP THE ARTICLE HERE? WHY AND I ASK AGAIN WHY? Here we are talking about Arsenal players, we are talking and analyzing their on the field performances not philanthropy. I believe that is what this forum is majorly about. Let’s stop this mix-up, currently is Ozil the only Arsenal player involved in philanthropy? The answer is CAPITAL NO, is he the only athlete doing so presently? The answer again is CAPITAL NO. YOU engage in that as a sacrifice, many public and private servants do so from what they earn, Lionel Messi, C. Ronaldo, Kanu Nwankwo, George Weah Opong, Bill Gates & Co are all doing that and also doing well in their chosen professions, can that be said right now of Mesut Ozil? again it is CAPITAL NO. And this forum is all about football, there’s no disputing that life is more important, there is no statistics to show us how many people have passed on due to the shambolic displays and performances of him and his cohorts in Arsenal, how many have become BP patients. It has become a parlance “Of if you want to develop High Blood pressure start supporting Arsenal”. To whom much is given, much is also expected. The money he is doling out in philanthropy is he really working it out, is he really rendering quality service to the Club paying him or he’s taken undue advantage of the situation – the frauad he and Wenger pulled over the club that have found it very difficult to off load him, with all his creative skill he’s creating nothing for the team to excel. Permit me to use the word it is not fair at all to be EXTORTING money from the Club you not committed to so as to run those things mentioned in article. Let’s call a spade a spade, we are talking about FOOTBALL. take away all these political, religious and all worth not burahaha from the facts and truth that the platform stands for. Ozil due to his high skill was engaged by Arsenal to play committedly quality and efficient football and earn fabulously for it. Is he doing that? Phil, Pat and so many of us here can attest that he is not doing that, meaning that he is duping the club to run his gigantuan humanitarian programs. I know his cronies will not like this BUT HE’S BLEEDING THE CLUB.
me thinks the authors of this ridicilous piece of crap have scored the biggest own goal of all time. there they weree plotting and planning on how to make ozil popular, so they came up with this advertising piece. however, from reading the replies here i feel the authors should have kept their fingers in their pockets. goes to show how unpopular the greatest number ten in the world is .oh dear, what an OG.
Like a lot of Celebs who earn obscene amouts of money, he does loads for charity, and very good nothing new there. A pity he doesn’t put as much effort into his football because that’s the platform that has enabled him to be in a position to do it.
I really don’t care what Ozil does with his money or personal time. I am more concerned with the team, and as always, with the football. Arteta has said he wants accountability, aggression and passion. Ozil and his supporters that forced Emery to play him will surely get in the way of Arteta’s ideology. I hope Arteta will be strong enough to stand upto them.
QD, wow man wow!!!
To be given the credit on making a professional coach include ANY player by posting there views on a website is overwhelming to say the least.
I always thought the “vast majority” wanted him out, so what happened to the likes of you and your views then?
My old mate Jon Fox keeps telling everyone, IN CAPITAL LETTERS, how his fanboy base is dwindling every day, so what went wrong?
In fact, Jon now has a crate of champagne on ice waiting for all his predictions to come true!!!
Did you actually read what UE said about him? Perhaps that was the reason he selected him?
@Ken1945
What on earth does what Jon Fox say have to do with me? I am not responsible for what Jon Fox says. I have never claimed to know who the vast majority are, whether Ozil out or Ozil in fans. We have been repeatedly told, Ozil sells the most shirts, so my assumption has always been the Ozil ins are a significant number. Anyway, I am certain if it were up to Emery Ozil would have been in the bin but the coach was weak and he wilted under Ozil fans’ pressure.
Listening to Arteta’s speech, Ozil without a doubt does not fit into Arteta’s ideology and if Arteta is not careful, he will face a huge problem when once again Ozil has to be dropped and his supporters start breathing down the coach’s neck.
A sensible post! Well said!
Especially the dwindling fan base nonsense eh Jon – shame you can’t admit to it as well!
QD…you didn’t know that JF had the same views as you?
See Jon, those capital letters don’t mean a thing!!! (joke Jon Joke).
Actually, where did I say that JF had anything to do with ‘your comments and you were responsible for him anyway?
I was linking two people with the same views…as are Phil’s and mine, on Ozil at least, as it happens.
So, although UE was in charge, left him out more times than he played him, told the world he needed to improve in training…yet it wasn’t up to him to “bin” him?
Thank God we sacked him then and I’m certain MA will be strong enough to stand up to any fan who wants to take him on!!
I’m sure that in MA’s speech, he said that Ozil was a massive player for our club, so let’s see what MA decides and, hopefully, the fan base will all agree with his decision…as far as promoting the club goes though, via his charity work, Ozil is doing a decent job, wouldn’t you say?
The next generation of gooners already primed and ready to go!!!
Ken Your “old mate Jon Fox” is also right about how large the majority is NOW against Ozil as a player. However, I do find some of the comments sickening though , from folk who clearly love AFC far more than humanity. THAT WILL NEVER BE MY POSITION THOUGH. I am as anti OZIL the player, as anyone on here, even far morE than most, but there are two contracting factors in your fine article and I said my piece on both of them in my above post.
This shows how almost impossible getting some real perspective is on most social media. It is possibly the most divisive medium ever. In fact, it is deeply unhealthy and I, for just one, am seriously considering if I WISH TO BE ON IT AT ALL ANY MORE. I am certainly wavering! Addictions that bring out the worst in people are not healthy and I want to live in sanity and inner peace for a long time yet. HEADSTRONG ANGER CAN SHORTEN LIVES and I am well aware of that.
I may well soon submit an article on precisely this fan divisiveness issue. It is not good for us or our club and is ONLY ONE STEP SHORT OF THE APPALLING RACISM DINOSAURS, AS WE SAW AT SPURS YESTERDAY. TERRIFYING!
Jon, I knew you would see what Phil and I were trying to do with the article and what the message actually was to us as a club.
I also knew those who would see it as an opportunity to have a go at the man again, even though it was all about his charity work and how it brings the name of our club into a positive light
How a man can be pilloried for one thing and, because of that, pilloried and judged for something quite different is so depressing.
I would put forward the same post scenario for UE, mustafi, xhaka or any other player, past or present, who had incurred the wrath of fans – it’s an insight for goodness sake!!!
The thing is today, that the media is instant, the comments read not spoken, the expectations unrealistic and opportunity to accuse or demean another as simple as blinking, with no recourse to supply proof of the written word whatsoever.
I know Phil’s frustration with you echos my feelings…just as my views on AW frustrates you and Phil…and we do have a real diverse set of opinions, age, expectations and tolerance of others on “justarsenal”, imagine if the site was full of the same opinion…it would die as a debating site.
Any racism is dealt with immediately and swearing is prohibited – only one other site has the same excellent conditions, that I have found anyway.
The future looks so different under MA in my opinion, he will sort out those that should go and if it is Ozil, auba, lacs or leno(!) I believe it will be the right decision.
I was unfortunate enough to witness the city game and left the ground completely underwhelmed by the whole experience and thought, in my naivety, old age and being a silly old man, that this article would bring a little piece of welcome positivity to the fans – for some obviously not and I’m now being accused of spreading propagada!!!
Could you REALLY give this all up – I find it a challenge myself!!!
Yes Ken, I am seriously considering leaving all social media, apart form my regular theatre and music sites, which are mostly about info, congrats and nice comments and where vitriolic and heated arguments just don’t happen. Opinions can vary but there is civilised debate almost always. I suggest this is becaue almost all true theatre folk have intelligence, liberal attitudes and just do not behave or write “like spit fury” animals. I am guilty on JA, because of sheer lifelong passion for AFC, of behaving out of my true character and often too.
As a man who tries, generally speaking, to live my daily life by a set of human principles, I have long been torn between my own selfish desire to have my say and the need to be kinder, more restrained and also having to neuter my true football opinions on some matters. Til now, I have certainly failed to do this.
This aggressive way of writing does neither me NOR anyone else any good at all. I have always known that of course but selfishness has allowed me to continue indulging myself in my own guilty pleasure.
My umpteenth New Year resolution is to either leave all football fan sites OR if possible, to seriously reduce my consumption and involvement.
I am proud that I managed to resist seeing the entire last world cup matches in silent protest at the corrupt awarding of that competion to Russia. It wasn’t easy and made more difficuly by constant info from those close to me whom I was silly enough to have pre-warned. I am already pledged to avoid the Qatar WC for the same reason.
I just loathe the whole cheating, money mad and unfair way that almost everything about the business of modern top football is now run , save the actual games, which apart from the player cheating and ref/ VAR incompetenece and lack of care for the fans, is still hugely entertaining, by and large. But I believe it is mentally unhealthy overall. I love AFC but I do NOT LIKE US! I have never been able to stand idleness, in life, and our OZIL debates are directly caused by this principle that I have and will always have. It also explains my Walcott vendetta.
Please dear Ken, always feel free to phone me if you wish but my present way of using this mostly well run site is going to change. Do enjoy Christmas and lets all hope we beat Bournemouth too. Be assured that despite our many heated arguments I have the utmost respect for you as a person.
you did good my friend
Ozil has not played most of the season, and we are around 10th in league.
The problem is not Ozil, it is anti-Ozil stuff, racism, that comes through clearly. If Ozil was English people will support him and blame cast else where.
I dont care where he come from, i have no interest in his race, it is not an issue at all.
I’m sorry that I can’t accept that. Ozil is divisive for footballing reasons and I do not think for one minute the anti Özil correspondents are anti because of his religion or ethnicity.
What a foolish post, so you think some of us want him out because he’s not English.
Ppl need to understand that Ozil did not write this article about him self n did Bragg about all this to make him famous. What ever charity work he is doing is for his own good so stop calling him hypocrite n all sorts of name. What ever he does out side football is his own life n he has the full right like you, me and anyone to do it. Keep it limited to boundaries of football and stop making personal attacks. If he is doing one good deed then least we can do is appreciate it instead of blaming him for not doing other good deeds. Ask your self how many charities do you support and how many ppl do you go out if your way to help? That’s the problem now days people don’t look at them selves in mirror but are quick to judge others.
Amazing article about an amazing human, although I doubt he would be first choice as an ambassador for Arsenal in China! 😆
A lot of people here are giving mix feelings to the subject matter. To those that believe that life is more than football, you’re not incorrect but in this context, you may not be correct. This world is a playing ground, therefore, football may be life to many. Ask yourselves these questions, why do we have so many people that are passionate about football?. Why do some people commit or attempt suicide after a loss?. Why do we have racism in football?. Let me guess first, maybe life is involved.
Ozil being a philanthropist should not be our concern please, rather as a footballer.
Glorious, if the world is a playing ground, surely Ozil’s backing for new footballing academies for the underpriviliged is commendable based on FACTS, that is the point we are making.
As for being judged as a footballer, that is an OPINION and one that MA will make clear in the next few weeks.
Ozil: well done with charity! Do more and get others behind you!
The real problem for Ozil is the leaking of goals behind him, which Arsenal’s fan’s think is his responsibility!
How can a Monkey be working and in return a Baboon enjoying the work pay of the Monkey..
Talk Football not Charitable works.
Ozil is giving alot to the needy but seem to be forgetting why his been paid.
We football fans ain’t benefiting a dime from him on the pitch nowadays…
It hurts.
The truth is Ozil is finished as a footballer,brings absolutely nothing to the team,only headaches.He needs to leave in January for the sake of the team.There is a twice a day flight from London to Istanbul for the people who worship him and cannot live without him.Is anyone here asking himself why not a single team from Germany(his birthplace) want him?He was the German footballer of the year for 5 years in a row,a record,he is a hero.Ar 34 yers old,Juventus paid over 100 million for Ronaldo and Messi,at 32 can command easy 150 millions.Why?Coz they are real players.Ozil is just a big fraud.His future lyes in Turkey,the only place where names counts more than value.At least he can help the fake T-shirt sale in Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar…
You can not compare Ronaldo and Messi to any player they are one in a generation type of players. Plus they play in a totally different position then him. There are so many football players like lampard, carzole and fabrgas etc etc who were brilliant but did not go 50 odd millions when they went to other clubs in 30s does that mean they were all useless. You can say what ever you want be the guy is world cup winner, played for biggest club in world Madrid n has been one of the elite players for long time.
Mezut Ozil’s charitable works should be applauded, as should the fact that it is his agent that is advertising the fact, not him. He should advise his agent regarding similar announcements if he wishes to stay in the background.
There are many others of similar or more wealth, who think only of themselves.
There isnt another player who has played for our club with anywhere near the amount of assists Ozil has provided, not even close. He maybe past his best now but our own new manager even admitted he was at 80% at best in his last season for us. Ozil has a whopping great contract which permits him to donate it to charity so if our club is stupid enough to give him that contract then why should he not take the money. That he is using it for the benefit of others speaks volumes.
I wonder if Arteta plans to play that high press with the players we already have. Ozil would not suit it, not even sure if Auba will to be fair and he’s our best goal scorer. Xhaka too is not ideal for this game, so the rumour could be true with us looking for a seller. Rumour also says he (MA) wants three players to arrive, three in this window does not sound too smart unless we have the money to get the top players. I’d say one player to arrive and maybe look at a loan along with him, that’d be the most I’d expect for Jan. Would love if we went strongly after Upamecano and then maybe think about a CM player, at least do the groundwork to put us in a good position for our top targets. Would also like to see Edu see if he can use his SA connections, Martinelli needs a buddy.
However much we love football, the spirit of what Mesut Ozil is doing is bigger than football. It can alleviate suffering and encourages all of us to train our minds to want to help others who are in adversity. One thing stops this world being a fair and equal place….selfishness. Me, me, me, I, I, I…..can be the the heartless sound of racism, nationalism, tribalism and an ego driven life. We all suffer on this small planet together, honey on a razor’s edge. Well done Mesut for highlighting the plight of the Uighurs. The Tibetans suffered it too. All beings are equal and that is an empirical fact. We are all brothers and sisters on this planet in the same boat.
I pointed this out several times. He’s an awesome human being. No doubt
BUT he still needs to go!
People bang on about being “Ruthless”. Well you can’t have it both ways.
He contributes nothing to our team and is bleeding our salary funds dry.
Arsenal needing Ozil out is not just an opinion it’s just plain common sense!
Innit,
only if one sees it as you do – kronkie is quite happy to pay him the salary, AW, UE and MA all saw/see him as a “massive player”, so let’s wait and see if he ticks the boxes for Mikel….if he does he stays and if he doesn’t he goes….that’s plain common sense – let the coach decide and get behind his decisions.
Being charitable is nice, it’s very good, but the rich get richer due to loopholes within taxes and linked with charity donations and such, I admit I don’t know a whole lot about it. Without knowing the ins and outs it is difficult to say which is which with some of them, very generous or very conniving. Ozil is not a one percenter, these folks seem to be the ones that had these loopholes drawn up. Ronaldo and Messi have been mentioned up there, I seem to remember these having tax evasion headlines written up about them. It would not surprise me to hear that these guys solicitors and agents have used such loopholes. I cannot say with Ozil because I know next to nothing about the actual man himself, all I know is his football and attitude during 90min. Until that China query came up on his twitter, I was actually doubting how much control Mesut had over his online personality after that mix-up between his and Gundagon’s profiles. I believe the China remarks are 100 percent Ozil and it’s probably just as well he made them, it would be bad if a players when under the Arsenal profile were not being made by the player/man himself.
It’s not in the spirit of christmas what I wrote up there, I apologise, but free speech should always be free, and I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas ..good Ladies and Gentleman, and if you can’t be good, be good at being very very bad.
😂😂 I’ll try 😜 Merry Christmas to you, BOT.
Merry Christmas to the Admins, authors and commenters in here…may we see good times as a club from now on
Merry Christmas, Viju 🙂