Jose Mourinho has admitted that he blocked Demba Ba's move to Arsenal after hearing they had signed Mesut Ozil.The German completed a transfer deadline day move to Arsenal for £42.5 million and Mourinho this week compared his former player to all-time greats Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane.

“Ozil is unique, there is no copy of him, not even a bad one,” he said.

“He is the best No.10 in the world. He made things easier for me and
his team-mates with his vision of the game and the decisions that he
made.

“Everybody loves him and you can see a bit of Figo and Zidane in him."

Arsenal made an approach for Ba on the final day of the summer
transfer window and looked set to take the Senegalese striker on a
season-long deal, but their signing of the 24-year-old Ozil resulted in
Mourinho personally blocking the move.

“I did not accept Arsenal’s offer for Demba Ba
because added to their signing of Ozil, they would have been title
contenders," he said, in quotes reported by various national newspapers.

Wenger had prioritised a new striker all summer, but, with Olivier
Giroud his only fit and recognised striker available, he was forced to
call off the proposed sale of Nicklas Bendtner.

Fair play to Mourinho, you don't feed your rivals, as Wenger did to United. But how could he say Ozil the best No.10 in the world!? The cheek of it...

*Jose Mourinho* If he criticized someone, everyone goes insane and call him an arrogant cu*t and if he says something good about someone he like, everyone still find something to talk about.. what is the problem if he said that Özil is the best number 10 in the world? what is the big deal about it? It's his opinion and it's not necessary the whole world *must* agree with what he always says, you know? :)

Btw, If Arsenal paid the 3 million to have him for a one season loan Chelsea would have accepted because that what the offer was like. But Arsenal only offered 1.5 m. and it was at the very last minute.

@AlexBatax maybe because you would think that Messi is the worlds No.1?

Mourinho never say something for free, i see him very upset after RM trip, he attacked CR7 by saying he's not the real Ronaldo. Now with the Ozil's new transfer, he has another chance to annoy his previous team and say they were wrong to sell him, also it puts some pressure on Ozil since everybody is reporting what the Upset one is saying.
Actually i don't even listen to this man, and was very happy when CR7 scored twice against him ;)
I remember when he was saying CR7 is the best player in the world.

@Ramaboy It's called "Freedom of speech" and also everyone has the right to think whatever they want. If I say my opinions everyone would rage here but I keep them to myself most of the times because It became a fixed opinion to everyone to think there is "only" one best player in the world which is Messi. But not in my world. Of course I love messi but he is "one of the best players in the world" to me. at least he doesn't insult anyone with his quotes directly which makes the other side guilty for being arrogant enough to think that he is talking about them in a bad manner. *Ego* is a terrible thing in this life.

@ramaboy10
By saying ozil is the best 10 in the world he doesnt mean the best player that has the No10 on his jersey.
By saying 10 is like saying playmaker.
Just Like 9 for CF.
Look at the expression" He plays as a false nine" for example..

Messi not the best in the world???

....besides. Gervinho is the real best in the world.

Fact: Messi is the best player in the world

when there is a fact, your opinion doesn't matter...

EDIT: i wasn't replying to Mourinho since i seen what DonAndres wrote

Actually, and it's only my opinion, but Messi is not the best player, he don't deserve "le ballon d'or" this year. If you look at what happend this last season, and even if he still have the biggest potential and talent, he was definitely not the best player last year.

@netsen

Messi is the best individual player in the world. The only other true candidate for the Ballon d'Or would be Ribery. Ribery won it all, but that's because his team played better football. Messi is still the best player in the world even though his team didn't play the best football.

Messi has been the best individual player for the past four years and will probably still be the best in the next four years. Consistency is key and Messi is arguably one of the most consistent players in the world. Just gotta learn to accept it.

We all know that Messi is one unique player and can't be compared. But any mother would say that her football player son is the best in the world. and Mourinho didn't say anything wrong, it's just that he loves the player, he played under him and helped him a lot, that's all. If I were a manager I would definitely say the same. and as a hardcore supporter to my club I have the right to think and believe that one of our players is the best in the world. That's just a very simple example, I hope you all understand it. :)

Football is not and individual game, and sometimes the best players are not who are expected to be, learn to accept it. Maybe Messi will get his trophy back, but he has to let it go for this year, to be the best individual is great, but perfect work with the team and a 100% succesfull season is definitely better.

Guys just look at what @tiki_taka said. Jose meant that Ozil is the best pure play-maker in the world. That's what #10 translates to. And yes, he does indeed have the freedom of speech, and he hasn't insulted anyone with this comment. What it does translate to is that Jose loved Ozil and admires him quite a bit. Telling the media that a player you have worked with in the past resembles Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane is an unfathomable compliment. Cheers to Jose for this one. I really think that Ozil's departure can mess up Real Madrid BAD if we don't pick up our pace quickly.

And just to show how mad people are with Ozil departure....

"The sale of Ozil is very bad news for me. He was a player who best knew my moves in front of goal. I'm angry about Ozil leaving" - Cristiano Ronaldo

"Many players like Sami Khedira and Cristiano Ronaldo are sad about the transfer. For me, it's incomprehensible that Real Madrid would sell one of their top scorers" - Joachim Low (Germany manager)

"He said goodbye to us on Sunday, but I thought he was joking. He's very different, there's no player like him in the world. He makes the difference on the pitch" - Alvaro Arbeloa

"It's obvious that he is a special teammate and a friend. I've always had a real 'feeling' with him, and it's a shame. He's a great footballer, unique. Ozil would be the very last player I would sell from Real Madrid, if it was up to me. I don't understand this" - Sergio Ramos, vice-captain of Real Madrid

...and of course, during Bale's presentation, the whole stadium was screaming, "Ozil not for sale!". Just goes to show how much we loved Ozil during his time here.

^^ This is why you need to get rid of Perez. I would put money on him having done this just to a) recoup some of the Bale money, and b) piss off Levy by selling to Arsenal.

Perez cares about Perez, and Real Madrid as an extension of Perez, not the team.

RM had Ozil - di maria - modric - and isco, if i was Ancelotti i would sell Di maria instead of Ozil. Ancelotti made his choice and Perez did what RM needed, look for money. I personnally would sell Di Maria or even Modric instead of Ozil, but it remains a coach choice.
And yes, Mou is putting some pressure early in Ozil, and its another ocasion to criticize RM managing indirectly :)

@Tiki

No, we need Modric right now. Alonso can be sold though, as Modric is not looking like he's going to let anyone beat him to the DM position anytime soon. Alonso can probably make between 12-18 M Euros, depending on who buys him. At 32, he's still a very important and dangerous game changer.

And I would sell di Maria over Ozil as well, but it is not Ancelotti's word that is final. It is Perez's. Ancelotti has little say in the matter. There were rumors going around that Zidane tried to stop the Ozil transfer when he heard it was happening, but he was told about it after it already happened.

...Modric, as a DM? O.o

Are you sure about that?

@Lodatz

That's what he's been playing as. Have you watched any of Real Madrid's games recently? He's been playing in the same position as Alonso. He has the same qualities as Alonso, but has quicker feet, enabling him to beat his opponent and then pass the ball, something Alonso lacked.

^^ Yeah, I've watched, but it certainly didn't seem like he was playing DM. He is a deep-lying play-maker -- I wouldn't trust him to tackle a donkey. ;)

Hasn't he also had Khedira alongside him, as the actual DM?