Former Germany teammate Mario Gomez has likened Mesut Ozil to “a little Cristiano” following his remarkable transformation since retiring from professional football.
Throughout his playing career, Ozil was often criticized for being lightweight and lacking in aggression, despite his successes with clubs like Real Madrid and Arsenal and winning the World Cup in 2014.
Known for his laid-back style of playmaking, the 35-year-old has now significantly bulked up, spending more time in the gym than ever before.
Even former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo has been impressed by Ozil’s physical transformation, commenting “bro not bad” on one of his social media posts.
Gomez has now had his say on the new hulking version of Ozil, telling the Phrasenmaher podcast: “First of all, it’s admirable how he pulls it off.
However, I am someone who believes in the happy medium because I have experienced swings in both directions and know that extremes often lead to nothing good. I don’t know what his mission is behind this.
“It looks a bit crass and wouldn’t be my thing – but that’s not the point. When you come out of a career in which you received a lot of encouragement and praise for years, you naturally look for something that fulfils you. Mesut now seems to have found this in the gym.
He also played with Ronaldo and maybe thinks: ‘Now I have time to become a little Cristiano’.”