Buying Bale and selling Ozil: Did Perez make a mistake?

Thousands of Madridistas, who had gathered in the Santiago Bernabeu to greet Gareth Bale, began to chant ‘Ozil no se vende’ (Ozil is not for sale). Real President Florentino Perez responded by holding a finger to his lips in a bid to quieten the crowd. But in retrospect, has he made a huge mistake by selling the German midfielder to Arsenal?

Mesut Ozil was signed brought from Werden Bremen at a fee reported to be around €15 million in the summer transfer window of 2010. He finished the first season with 25 assists, the highest for any player in any major European competition that season. The next season, he helped Real Madrid to clinch its 32nd La Liga title as he finished atop the assists chart, with 17 assists. Ozil finished the last season with 29 assists.

Many madridistas have been questioning Perez’s policy. Everyone wanted Gareth Bale to play for Real Madrid, but hardly they would have known that, he will be coming at the cost of Mesut Ozil. The German mid-fielder has been the center of Real Madrid’s revival in the Champions League front. Ozil’s signing for Arsenal has shocked many of Madrid’s players and also left many of madridistas in utter dismay.

Following the early signing of Neymar for Barcelona, Perez had to sign Gareth Bale irrespective of the money involved in it. It was necessary because Neymar had rejected Real Madrid, as according to him they play second-fiddle to Barcelona. It was just a matter of time and money before Bale was presented to the world, as the newest galactico signed by Perez. Ronaldo-Ozil-Bale would’ve been the deadliest trio in the world but sadly, Ozil has to be replaced by Isco .

On the brighter side- it’s a great deal , we’d now get to see more of Bale and Isco. Carlo Ancelotti had openly said, that he’s glad to see Ozil unhappy: “It’s normal that Ozil isn’t happy. I don’t like players who are happy to be on the bench”. Ozil was brought in at 15 million and sold off at 50 million, Madrid have made huge profit by selling him. If a player is unhappy on being benched, he should take it positively and fight for his place, but instead of fighting for his place, Ozil fled away. Angel would’ve been expected to be the one, moving out of Bernabeu but, he vowed to fight for his place.

It’s always good to have players fighting for their places, however you shouldn’t be expecting a player of Ozil’s calibre to warm the bench. Ozil left Bernabeu for good. It’s a good sign for the team as well. It would mean more chances for the youngsters especially Isco and Jese. Now Modric will also be able to play in his natural attacking position. However only time will tell whether selling Ozil and buying Bale was a good deal.

Madrid will now have to rely on newboy Isco, who is nowhere near to Ozil’s class and skills. Ozil was the backbone of the team, even Bale cannot fill the void left behind by Ozil. It was absurd to sell Ozil and expect newboys, Isco and Bale to fill the void. Ozil wasn’t the best, in fact Ozil had many issues. Many questioned his pace and goal-scoring abilites. Madrid needs someone like Bale and Isco, who can score goals and also provide assists.

Only time can tell whether it was foolish of Perez, to let go of Ozil ?