Mesut Özil defends himself against criticism of his salary waiver at FC Arsenal. For him, the club is partly to blame for his decision.
Mesut Özil’s refusal to waive his salary at FC Arsenal has caused a lot of commotion.
The 2014 world champion was one of three Arsenal professionals who did not agree to a 12.5 per cent salary cut. Particularly when it became known that the Gunners were laying off 55 employees as part of the savings, discontent was rife among the fans.
Now Özil, who is to earn 350,000 pounds a week in London, has spoken out on the issue – and defended his decision.
“As players, we all wanted to do our bit,” Özil explained at The Athletic, “but we needed more information and many questions remained unanswered,” the 31-year-old criticised the Gunners’ managers.
Özil: “Went way too fast
For him, a postponement would have been fine – even with a higher percentage – “and then, if necessary, a cutback as soon as the football and financial prospects had become clearer. But we were pushed into this without proper consultation,” Özil complained.