Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil and former Manchester United winger Angel Di Maria looking to return to former club Real Madrid
Both Ozil and Di Maria arrived in Real Madrid in the summer of 2010 for an estimated €40 million. They spent 3 full seasons together at the Spanish capital as teammates and scored a total of 63 goals for Real in a combined 349 appearances in all competitions.
Both of them were integral players of Jose Mourinho’s record breaking La Liga winning side in 2011 which made them the first Spanish club to reach 100 points in the top flight.
According to a report from Spanish publication MARCA, the attacking duo regret leaving the Capital and want to return to the Santiago Bernabeu. The report states that they have offered their services to the European Champions and are also exploring different career options at the moment.
Mesut Ozil, alongside Alexis Sanchez is Arsenal’s most important player. Since arriving at the Emirates in a big money move in the summer of 2013, believed to be around £42.5 million on a 5-year-contract. He has since gone on to score 27 goals in 134 appearances for the Gunners.
However, it is his 47 assists during that time that have made him an irreplaceable member in Arsene Wenger’s squad and Arsenal are desperate to extend the German international’s contract and tie him down to a long term deal.
He has a contract till June 2018 and is yet to agree to a new deal. He was even linked with a move to Manchester United earlier this month to reunite with former manager Jose Mourinho.
In his past 3 full seasons with the club, they have won 2 FA Cup titles and a Community Shield, but have been unable to mount a proper title challenge in the Premier League and Champions League, which may have lead to the 27-year-old considering his future with the club.
Angel Di Maria, left Real Madrid in the summer of 2014, after being a part of Carlo Ancelotti’s historic side which won Real’s 10th Champions League title or the infamous ‘La Decima‘. He moved to Manchester United for a massive £59.7 million but was not able to adapt to life in the Premier League under Louis Van Gaal.
He didn’t take well to life in England and his house was the scene of an attempted burglary in 2015, which didn’t help his cause.
He only managed to make 32 appearances that entire season, scoring 4 goals and getting 12 assists to his name, before being shipped of to Ligue 1 giants, Paris Saint-Germain for an estimated £44 million, signing a 5 year contract, set to expire in 2019.
The Argentine then went on to win all the domestic titles in France in his first year with the club, making 47 appearances in all competitions, scoring 15 goals and getting 25 assists.
His second season, has been far from positive as the Champions are currently languishing in third position in the Ligue 1, with pressure mounting on manager Unai Emery and the 28-year-old is reportedly unhappy at the direction his career is going in.
But What Is The Point?
It is unlikely that Real would choose to spend big money to bring them back to the club, given the way things are going and the squad they have at their disposal.
Ozil, would have to compete with Isco, James Rodriguez, Mateo Kovacic and Luka Modric for one position, whilst Di Maria would have to compete with Gareth Bale or Cristiano Ronaldo for a position on the flanks.
Neither Ozil nor Di Maria would arrive for cheap before 2018, and 2019 respectively and it is unlikely that President Florentino Perez would consider investing in them once again in the near future.
There are also a number of up and coming youngsters like Marco Asensio and Lucas Vazquez whose progress would be hampered by the arrival of more bigger and established names.
However, the likes of Isco, Kovacic and James Rodriguez have all been linked with moves abroad, due to their lack of game time under Zinedine Zidane and their departure is likely the only thing that can persuade them to consider bringing back Ozil and Di Maria.
