'Absolute genius' - Mesut Ozil told he was Real Madrid's 'most special player' ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo as Sami Khedira claims ex-team-mate admitted Arsenal transfer was 'serious mistake'

Khedira spent five memorable years at the Santiago Bernabeu between 2010 and 2015 and shared a dressing room with some of the top players of the game like Ronaldo, Ozil, Karim Benzema and Sergio Ramos. He has hailed his compatriot Ozil as the 'most special player' of that Real Madrid squad.

Khedira further claimed that the entire Madrid dressing room was left flabbergasted when club president Florentino Perez sold Ozil to Arsenal in the summer of 2013. The midfielder also revealed that Ozil later told him that leaving Los Blancos for the Gunners was a big mistake of his playing career.

Speaking to Marca, Khedira said, "Everyone understands Cristiano. To win games, Cristiano was the man, because he never failed. He was always there. We needed a goal, so we passed the ball to Cristiano. But the most special player for me was Mesut Ozil. And I explain it with his departure.

"The day Mesut left, we were all saying to Florentino: 'But why are you selling him?' But we all said it, right? Benzema, Cristiano, Ramos... Ozil was an absolute genius, he was a real magician. I played behind him and you gave him a bad pass and he controlled the ball with ease... I have never seen a player with that class and that quality, really."

When asked if Ozil could have won a Ballon d'Or if he stayed at Madrid, Khedira replied: "I don't know, because there were Cristiano and Messi and also Xavi and Iniesta, who for me should have won a Ballon d'Or. But yes, Ozil had that potential. And although he had a great career, it would have been different at Madrid.

"And he told me, that it was a serious mistake to leave Madrid, because he had everything here. The Bernabeu loved him, he played like an angel... Really, Mesut played like Zidane. My idol was Zizou and if you put both of them on YouTube and watch them... Mesut was like Zizou."

The ex-Gunners star announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 34 after making a final appearance for Turkish Super Lig side İstanbul Basaksehir. The German is now living his life with his family away from the game.