The 35-year-old former Real Madrid player explains exactly why “El Clasico” has lost its glory.

Real Madrid And Barcelona are two of the best football clubs on the planet. Both clubs have long dominated European football. While Madrid are 14-time UEFA Champions League winners, Barcelona have a total of 77 trophies in their history, including 27 La Liga titles and 6 UCLs. So, it’s no surprise that when the two Spanish giants meet, it’s a huge occasion and the match is called “El Clasico”. However, according to Madrid legends, the fixture is losing its glory.

Mesut Ozil played for Los Blancos from 2010 to 2013 before moving to the Premier League. Ozil played 105 matches for the club and won 1 La Liga, 1 Copa del Rey and 1 Supercopa. Recently, the 35-year-old sat down for an interview with the Spanish outlet, brand, and discuss the current world of football. There he discusses why “El Clasico” may not be the most watched game in the world.

He added, “In my day, it was the most important match in world football… Unfortunately for us, Barcelona were probably the best Barcelona in history. Barcelona under Pep was on another level, completely different… Currently, I think the world’s interest is more focused on games like Liverpool-Manchester City or other Premier League clashes… I think the level of the Clasico has dropped, and it’s a shame. But that’s not Real Madrid’s fault, as they are undoubtedly one of the best teams in the world. The problem is Barcelona, ​​who have lost ground.

Apart from Barcelona’s decline in recent years, another factor behind the low attendance numbers is the lack of star power. When the legend chooses Zinedine Zidane, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Xavi playing for Real and Barcelona, ​​the entire world watched the match. Since the departure of Ronaldo and Messi from La Liga, many fans have also turned away from the match. But that might change in the upcoming season.

According to reports, the French superstar and PSG winger Kylian Mbappe is going to Madrid. Along with Erling Haaland, Mbappe is the biggest superstar in the football world and his addition to Real means a lot of eyesores in La Liga. On top of that, the addition of Judd Bellingham has also been a huge boost. For Barcelona, ​​teenage sensation Lamine Yamal is also turning heads.

FC Barcelona is going through another management change

In the 2022-23 season, FC Barcelona finally seems to have regained its mojo in La Liga. After taking over from Ronald Koeman, Xavi Hernandez transformed Barca and the team won the La Liga title in the 2022–23 season. They have won 4 draws and lost only 6 matches in 28 matches. However, things fell apart in the 2023–24 season where they failed to win a trophy and are currently 8 points behind league leaders Real Madrid.

Amidst all the chaos, Xavi announced that he would be leaving the club after the 2023-24 season. After the January 2024 clash against Villarreal, in which Barca lost 3–5, the manager added, “I took it a few days ago but today was the moment to announce it. I don’t want to be any problem. I want to be the solution for Barca as I was two years ago. (via h/t FC Barcelona)

– Eight points behind Real Madrid in La Liga 😬
– Outside the UCL ❌
– Xavi is leaving 🚶
– Elimination by Athletic Club in the Copa del Rey 🫠

Barcelona’s nightmare 2023-24 season continues pic.twitter.com/qe11uUNuzi

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 16, 2024

Although there were reports that Barcelona initially tried to change Xavi’s mind about the decision, the Champions League quarter-final defeat against PSG derailed that and his position remained unchanged. So the club’s future remains up in the air. On top of that, financial problems could force the Cubs to sell some of their best players Frankie De Jong.

So Mesut Ozil was not wrong when he suggested that Barcelona had lost a step. Apart from that, Premier League teams have also improved significantly. Teams like Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal already have huge fanbases and City of Manchester Making the league a must-watch for fans around the world

Recently, matches between City and Liverpool have been some of the most tactically contested with incredibly high-paced action. But with a coach like Jurgen Klopp Pep Guardiola The quality of the football involved was never in doubt. So La Liga has a lot of work to do before it becomes the most attractive league once again.

Mesut Ozil retires from football in 2023

At its prime, Mesut Ozil One of the best attacking midfielders the sport has ever seen. Ozil has scored 114 goals and provided 220 a*sists in 645 matches in his career. Apart from his accolades with Real Madrid, the German player won 4 FA Cups and 1 FA Community Shield with Arsenal. He also has 1 DFB-Pokal with German club Werder Bremen and FIFA World Cup 2014 with the German national team.

After his controversial departure from Arsenal, Ozil moved to Turkish side Fenerbahce and from there to Istanbul Basaksehir. He finally retired from football in March 2023 after playing the sport professionally for 18 years.