Mesut Ozil Names Unreal Best Team of Players he Played With

Despite how things may have ended, there’s no denying that Mesut Ozil had an incredible football career for the most part. The midfielder was a creative force in his prime, terrorising teams in Germany, Spain and England. Over the years, Ozil played for top sides like Real Madrid and Arsenal, as well as featuring prominently for a German national team that won the World Cup.

As a result, he’s played with some pretty incredible names throughout his career. Some bonafide superstars, in fact, so compiling an XI of the very best teammates he ever had would be a terribly hard job. Fortunately for us, he’s done it for us. Without further ado, here is the best XI of players that played with Mesut Ozil throughout his career, from the mouth of the talisman himself.

GK – Manuel Neuer

Teams Ozil played alongside him at: Germany & Schalke 04

Over the years, Ozil has played with some incredible goalkeepers. The likes of Petr Cech and Iker Casillas were standing between the sticks during his time at Arsenal and Real Madrid, but it’s his former international teammate Manuel Neuer who gets the nod here. The German has consistently been one of the best goalkeepers on the planet for well over a decade.

There are few players who have played at his level for as long as he has and his presence in the net during Germany’s World Cup triumph in 2014 was absolutely massive. Some tough competition, but Ozil got this spot on.

RB – Philipp Lahm

Teams Ozil played alongside him at: Germany

While he’s played with some solid right-backs over the years, none come close to how good Philipp Lahm was in his prime and throughout the majority of his career, so we can’t blame Ozil for picking him for his XI. The two played together in the German national team and were both key to the country’s success.

Over the years, Lahm was a standout performer in a very good Bayern Munich side and, considering the number of superstars that surrounded him, it’s a testament to how good he was that he managed to stand out time and time again. Mehmet Scholl said to him at his farewell:

CB – Sergio Ramos

Teams Ozil played alongside him at: Real Madrid

One of the greatest centre-backs of all time, there’s no surprise at all that Sergio Ramos has made it into Ozil’s XI. The former Real Madrid man was a phenom at the back for well over 15 years and is still performing at a fairly high level now with Sevilla, despite being 37 years old.

Ozil played with Ramos at Madrid, and the two won a La Liga title together, as well as a Copa del Rey. If it wasn’t for a certain Argentine at Barcelona, they would have likely won a truckload more silverware. That Madrid side was brilliant and both of these men were a big reason for that. They might have been teammates for just three years, but that doesn’t take away from how good Ramos was, and he’s thoroughly deserving of a spot in this side.

CB – Jerome Boateng

Teams Ozil played alongside him at: Germany

Another star that Ozil played with at international level who makes this team is Jerome Boateng. Whether it was for Germany or Bayern Munich, the centre-back was a machine and gave strikers nightmares during his prime. Few could match his intensity on the pitch. There’s a reason he held down a consistent role at a powerhouse like Bayern for a decade.

They may not have played together as often as Ozil played alongside some of the other names in this team, but Boateng still did enough to leave a mark and earn himself a spot in the XI.

LB – Marcelo

Teams Ozil played alongside him at: Real Madrid

When you think of all-time great left-backs, you think of Ashley Cole, Roberto Carlos and you think of Marcelo. The Brazilian was incredible for Real Madrid, playing for Los Blancos over 500 times across 15 years. His impact was massive and working alongside Ozil for three years was all the German needed to see to ensure he earned a spot in his best XI.

Marcelo has won just about everything there is to win at this point and, while he’s still plying his trade, these days at Fluminense in his native Brazil, he will retire as one of the greatest full-backs of all-time and for very good reason.

CM – Xabi Alonso

Teams Ozil played alongside him at: Real Madrid

In terms of the best central midfielders ever, Xabi Alonso has actually been quite underrated over the years. He’s very rarely mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Steven Gerrard, Paul Scholes and Frank Lampard, but he should be. The Spaniard was simply magnificent on the football pitch and Ozil has quite rightfully recognised his brilliance.

The pair played together for three years at Madrid and Ozil was clearly very impressed with what he saw. While it might actually look like Alonso may be an even better manager than he was a player, with his Bayer Leverkusen side thriving at the moment, he was still a fantastic midfielder, and it’s nice to see him earn a spot here.

CM – Santi Cazorla

Teams Ozil played alongside him at: Arsenal

While injuries eventually ended his Arsenal tenure on a sour note, Santi Cazorla was simply sublime when he first moved to the Emirates and for a time, he was one of the most effective midfielders in the Premier League. The tricky Spaniard played alongside Ozil for five years at the Gunners, and they worked some magic together.

They won two FA Cups together and while the club never really challenged for a Premier League trophy during their collective tenures, they were still a quite formidable duo. Still, it’s quite surprising to see Cazorla earn a spot here considering Ozil has played with the likes of Luka Modric, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Toni Kroos.

RW – Alexis Sanchez

Teams Ozil played alongside him at: Arsenal

These Arsenal players are like buses, you wait all this time to see one and then Ozil includes two back-to-back. Alexis Sanchez’s reputation in England may have been soiled following his disastrous spell at Manchester United, but during his days as a Gunner, there were few attackers in the world quite like him.

He was dynamite on the flank, destroying defenders whenever he had the chance and was the first true glimpse of a world-class player at the Emirates since the days of Thierry Henry and Cesc Fabregas. Ozil and Sanchez were brilliant together, and they won several trophies alongside one another at Arsenal. The German has played with some superb right-wingers over the years, but in his prime, none of them could touch the Chilean.

AM – Mesut Ozil

Teams he played for: Germany, Schalke 04, Werder Bremen, Real Madrid, Arsenal, Fenerbahce & Istanbul

This entry needs no real explanation really. You can’t have the greatest players to ever play with Ozil in a side that doesn’t feature the German himself, so he included himself in the attacking midfielder role. You’ve got to admire that level of confidence. He did have an incredible career over the years, winning league titles, World Cups and numerous other trophies, so we can’t fault him.

Still, it’s a shame the last few years of his career seem to have altered the perception surrounding his ability. There were few players who were capable of doing the things he could creatively when he was at his best.

LW – Cristiano Ronaldo

Teams Ozil played alongside him at: Real Madrid

The least surprising name on this list. It would have been more bewildering if Ozil didn’t include Cristiano Ronaldo than it is that he did. The Portuguese star is undoubtedly one of the greatest footballers to ever play the game, and he’s proven that time and time again over the years. Whether it was for Manchester United, Madrid (where he played with Ozil), Juventus or even Al-Nassr nowadays, he’s always produced greatness.

That doesn’t seem to be slowing down either, so there’s no question he’s one of the best ever and is easily the greatest player that Ozil ever played with during his career. It’s a shame their time together was so brief as the German at his creative best alongside Ronaldo would have been carnage for anyone they came up against.

ST – Karim Benzema

Teams Ozil played alongside him at: Real Madrid

Karim Benzema actually managed to become quite underrated for the majority of his run at Real Madrid, and few truly appreciated him for the superstar he was. Ozil was one of them, though, listing him as the greatest forward he ever played alongside, which is quite the shout considering some of the strikers he’s teamed with.

Largely due to the overwhelming presence of Ronaldo at the Bernabeu, Benzema’s influence at Madrid flew under the radar, but it’s come to light in more recent years and now the world all recognises how special he actually was during his prime. He’s still a very solid striker today, playing in the Saudi Pro League. His prime was on a whole different level, though, and it’s easy to see why Ozil ranks him above every other striker he ever lined up alongside.