Mesut Ozil currently earns £350,000-per-week at Arsenal but still, the player has refused to take a pay cut amidst the ongoing crisis.
Arsenal had asked its players to take a 12.5 per cent pay cut starting from this month and despite being the club’s highest earner, Ozil seems to have turned down the offer, according to a report in The Mirror.
And speaking on the whole issue, pundit Jamie Carragher ripped into the German international and his agent claiming this was nothing short of an own-goal from his whole team.
“I think his agent did him no favours when he came out three or four weeks ago about waiting to see how the coronavirus hits these clubs financially,” the Liverpool legend told Sky Sports’ The Football Show, as quoted by Football London.
“I always felt it would be a problem, I’ve been in this situation with a different matter where you have to agree with 25 people in a dressing room, it’s never going to happen.
“I always felt there were two stands of players that could not fully engage with cuts or deferrals. A young lad who had just got into the squad, who perhaps didn’t have the revenue of other players, or an older player coming to the end of his contract, who hadn’t earned big money throughout his career.
“The fact that the highest-paid player and biggest name hasn’t gone with the rest of his teammates, even if I was in Ozil’s position and I didn’t agree with that, I think the fact the rest of your team, the manager of the club, have decided to be as one and make this decision, you have to go with it.
“Football is a team game, it’s not an individual sport, for someone like Ozil there, I think he has to go with what the players are doing. It’s a massive PR own goal.
“I’m not going to have a go at him for the wages he’s earned. If you want to do that, blame the people that gave him those contracts.
“In every walk of life we try to earn as much money as we can but when a situation like this comes in, in a dressing room, the highest-paid member and the biggest name should be setting the example because it hasn’t been a great PR success story since he had that contract.”
Why Mesut Ozil might not be sold despite refusing a pay cut?
Many believe this situation has turned almost everyone at the club against Mesut Ozil and the management will be looking to sell him off during the upcoming transfer window.
While the Gunners would love to do that, we do not think, selling him out will be that easy – especially due to the high salary he currently earns at the club.
Arsenal had agreed to pay him such a massive package in a bid to hold onto him and now it seems this inflated wage is the main reason why the Gunners are struggling to find a buyer for Mesut Ozil.
The German is currently 31 years old and will be 32 in October meaning right now not many clubs would want to sign a player who earns such a massive salary in the twilight of his career.
So despite refusing to take the pay cut, Mikel Arteta might have no other alternative but to keep using Ozil in his plans for the upcoming season.
