Mesut Ozil has revealed he squared up Jose Mourinho after the Manchester United boss labelled him a ‘coward’ during a dressing room argument at Real Madrid.
The German playmaker played under Mourinho for three years at the Bernabeu before joining Arsenal for £42.5million after the Portuguese had rejoined Chelsea.
Ozil, 28, won a La Liga title, a Copa del Rey and a Supercopa de Espana before moving to the Gunners and still speaks positively about his time with Mourinho.
However the Germany international has revealed in his upcoming autobiography, that is being serialised by Bild, that the Special One told him he was a ‘coward’ during a blazing room at Real Madrid.
Ozil claims the pair were involved in a heated row after one game when Mourinho said: ‘You think two beautiful passes are enough… You think you’re so good that fifty per cent is enough.’
The former Werder Bremen midfielder then claims that the pair squared up to one another: ‘He pauses. Stares at me with his dark brown eyes. I stare back. Like two boxers at the stare-down before the first round. He shows no emotion. Just waits for a response from me. How much I hate him right now. And I love Mourinho actually.’
Mourinho is then said to have responded by calling the German a coward: ‘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.’
Ozil later admits that Mourinho was right about his attitude and that the Portuguese boss had taught him a valuable lesson that he’s taken with him since.
The German missed most of Arsenal’s training session yesterday after being sent home with illness but he’s expected to recover in time to face Liverpool on Saturday.
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