Ozil, benched
Posted Monday, September 02, 2013 by Marca.com
When the Real Madrid Athletic game kicked off, Mesut Özil was sat in his team's dugout. And there he stayed for the whole match. The German didn't play a single minute against the Basque team, which for many came as a surprise after being a starter for the previous two league games against Betis and Granada.
During the Granada match, Özil was taken off in the 64th minute, being replaced by Casemiro. Against Betis, he was also substituted in the middle of the second half, this time by Di María. After the Athletic game, Ancelotti defended his decision to start with Di María: "It's natural that Özil is not happy. It was a technical decision. I chose Di María because he's got good pace", he explained.
The substituting and non-starting of the German has aired rumours of his possible departure. In the final hours of the transfer window, Manchester United's interest in the player has been joined by that of PSG. Despite the interest, the player himself, speaking at a recent marketing event, made it quite clear that his wish is to stay with Real.
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