Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil, has revealed that he snubbed a move to Barcelona in 2010, because their manager at the time, Pep Guardiola, showed lack of interest.
The German playmaker became one of the hottest players in Europe after playing for his country at the 2010 World Cup.
Barca were among the big European teams keen on Ozil, along with Real Madrid, Manchester United and Arsenal.
The player himself was leaning towards a move to the Camp Nou, before eventually signing for their rivals – Real Madrid.
“Arsenal were interested in signing me after the 2010 World Cup, as were Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid,” an extract from Ozil’s new book ‘Die Magie des Spiels’, published by Bild, reads.
“My agent sat down with Bayern to discuss a move. The club told him about their plans with me and how they intended to use me. He had similar talks with the other clubs that wanted me.
“Before I travelled to Barcelona, I was convinced that was my next club. I was leaning toward joining Barcelona. There was no team in the world that played more beautiful football.
“But Guardiola did not attend talks and he did not call me either the days after. He did not even send me a text. He did not show me that he wanted to sign me as well. My interest in a move to Barcelona quickly decreased.”
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