A Real Madrid star who played with Cristiano Ronaldo explained why it was another "absolute genius" teammate who was the "most special" player before he left in a move he considers to be a "mistake".
Ronaldo scored a record-breaking 450 goals in 438 games for Los Blancos, winning four of his five Ballon d'Ors, as well as four Champions Leagues and two La Liga titles.
Sami Khedira enjoyed five years playing with the Portuguese superstar at the Santiago Bernabeu and then later played with him at Juventus, lifting two Serie A titles together.
But although he hailed Ronaldo's unmatched goalscoring abilities, particularly in the big moments, the 38-year-old considers Mesut Ozil to be the most special player he shared a dressing room with.
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Ozil spent three years in the Spanish capital, winning three major trophies before departing for Arsenal in a £42.5 million switch in 2013 - despite a slew of players being against his departure.
Khedira and Ozil won the World Cup in 2014 with Germany and though the 36-year-old did have success in England with three FA Cup wins, the former claims he privately acknowledged that he should not have left Real.
Sami Khedira revealed what Mesut Ozil told him about leaving Real Madrid
"To win games, Cristiano was the man because he never failed," Khedira told Marca.
"He was always there. We needed a goal, so the ball went to Cristiano.
“But the most special player for me was Mesut Ozil. And I explain it with his departure.
"The day Mesut left, we were all saying to Florentino [Perez]: 'But why are you selling him?' But we all said it, right? [Karim] Benzema, Cristiano, [Sergio] Ramos... Ozil was an absolute genius; he was a real magician.
“I played behind him, and you gave him a bad pass, and he controlled the ball with ease... I have never seen a player with that class and that quality, really.”
He continued: “I don't know, because there were Cristiano [Ronaldo] and [Lionel] Messi and also Xavi and [Andres] Iniesta, who, for me should have won a Ballon d'Or. But yes, Ozil had that potential.
“And although he had a great career, it would have been different at Madrid. And he told me, that it was a serious mistake to leave Madrid, because he had everything here.
“The [Santiago] Bernabéu loved him; he played like an angel... Really, Mesut [Ozil] played like [Zinedine] Zidane.
“My idol was Zizou, and if you put both of them on YouTube and watch them... Mesut was like Zizou.”
Cristiano Ronaldo is still going strong after Mesut Ozil decision
After being frozen out at Arsenal under Mikel Arteta, he later turned out for Fenerbahce and Istanbul Basaksehir before retiring from football in March 2023.
Ronaldo, meanwhile, is still going strong in the Saudi Pro League aged 40, having scored 99 goals since joining Al Nassr on a free transfer in December 2022.
The Manchester United legend was out of contract this summer and received offers from elsewhere, but ultimately decided to extend his stay in Riyadh with a new £340 million deal.
Ronaldo will be 42 by the time the contract finishes and is desperate to finally win a major honour with Al Nassr.
“I still believe in that goal,” he told Al Nassr's official channels.
“That’s why I renewed for two more years. I believe I will be a champion in Saudi Arabia.”
Topics: Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo, Sami Khedira, La Liga
Josh Lawless