Mesut Ozil Profile

Mesut Özil (born October 15, 1988) is a German footballer who plays for Spanish club Real Madrid in La Liga and the German national team. Özil, a member of the national youth team since 2006 when he was the first professional league season and a member of the German national team has been started since 2009.

He drew international attention during the FIFA World Cup 2010 and was nominated for the Ballon d'Or awarded the best player of the tournament. After his breakout performance at the World Cup, he was transferred to Real Madrid in August 2010. His nicknames are "the new Diego" - the new Diego - a reference to the Brazilian playmaker, whose role he inherited from Werder Bremen and the "German Massi" for his outstanding playmaker and ball handling skills such as Barcelona and Argentina Lionel Messi.

Özil is the third generation Turkish-German, says of his game: "My technique and direction of the ball is the Turkish part of my game, discipline, attitude and always give everything the self-German side."