The first big revelations from Mesut Ozil’s upcoming book ‘The Magic of the Game’ were released earlier today as part of a series of articles for German newspaper Bild.
As well as revealing the list of clubs who were interested in acquiring his signature after the 2010 World Cup, the Arsenal star admitted to having a blazing row with Jose Mourinho during his time at Real Madrid.
The pair fell out in the Madrid dressing room at half-time of a clash with Deportivo La Coruna in 2012 and the German star did not re-emerge for the second period.
“‘You think two beautiful passes are enough,’ cries Mourinho. ‘You’re too fine for going into fights. You think you’re so good that fifty percent is enough,'” Ozil wrote, as per The Mirror.
“He pauses. Stare at me with his dark brown eyes. I stare back. Like two boxers at the stare down before the first round of a fight. He shows no emotion. Just waits for a response from me. How much I hate him right now. I love Mourinho.”
Ozil then threw his shirt on the floor, prompting Mourinho to shout: “Oh, are you giving up now? You’re such a coward.
“What do you want? To creep under the beautiful, warm shower? Shampoo your hair? To be alone? Or do you want to prove to your fellow players, the fans out there, and me, what you can do.”
It clearly wasn’t exactly the best pep talk Mourinho has ever given because Kaka ended up taking Ozil’s place for the second half.
However, it was a row that also split the rest of the Real Madrid squad.
It has been revealed that Sergio Ramos was among those siding with the German and had even plotted a way to show his discontent towards Mourinho’s treatment during the rest of the Deportivo clash.
Brought to our attention from Marca, it turns out the centre-back chose to wear Ozil’s shirt underneath his own for the second 45 minutes.
Ramos desperately wanted to add a goal of his own to the five Madrid scored over the course of the game – solely so he could dedicate it to his troubled teammate.
But it came to no avail, which was probably fortunate for Ramos as he would have likely landed himself in similarly hot water with Mourinho.
Incredibly, Ozil and the now Manchester United manager were able to resolve their differences and they both remained at the Bernabeu until the summer of 2013.