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Arsenal chief admits he once made a signing that left Cristiano Ronaldo so angry

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Arsenal have made some massive signings in their recent history.

Declan Rice became the first £100m player in the club’s history a couple of years ago, while Viktor Gyokeres has signed this summer in a huge transfer.

For a long time, especially in the post-Emirates era, Arsenal struggled to compete in terms of transfer spending, but that all changed in 2013.

Mesut Ozil joined Arsenal in 2013, and that deal earmarked the start of a new era for the Gunners.

Speaking on Inside Arsenal, former Arsenal negotiator, Richard Law has been discussing the Ozil signing, and he says that this transfer actually left Cristiano Ronaldo incredibly angry.

Mesut Ozil in action for Arsenal
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images

Cristiano Ronaldo was fuming at Mesut Ozil’s move to Arsenal

Law spoke about Ozil’s move to Arsenal and what he’d heard about Ronaldo in the aftermath of Ozil heading to north London.

Law says that he heard not long after this deal that Ronaldo was incensed that Ozil was sold, due to the incredible partnership they had together at Real Madrid.

“Mesut was the engine of that team, and we heard later than Ronaldo was incensed, because nobody provided better service to Ronaldo than Mesut Ozil,” Law said.

“So, that deal, all of a sudden, it wasn’t going to cost what the other two were and we were still sceptical because we hadn’t spoken to the player, but until you speak to the player, you can’t know if a deal can be done. But I believed they were serious enough that a deal could be done.”

Mesut Ozil’s record alongside Cristiano Ronaldo

Ronaldo was angry to see Ozil sold to Arsenal, and it’s not hard to understand why.

Indeed, the German was fantastic alongside Ronaldo, and they had an incredible partnership at the Bernabeu.

Mesut Ozil’s record alongside Cristiano Ronaldo
Games Played Together149
Wins107
Draws23
Losses19
Goals by Mesut Özil25
Goals by Cristiano Ronaldo150
Özil to Ronaldo Assists31
Ronaldo → Özil Assists7

The numbers show just how good these two were together.

That said, Ozil was replaced by Gareth Bale, and Bale worked brilliantly with Ronaldo too, playing a huge part in Real Madrid’s Champions League successes in the 2010s.

Ozil was fantastic with Ronaldo, but, in the end, this move worked out as Bale delivered European success for Madrid.