Mesut Ozil has given a surprising answer when queried about who he believed was better, Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, opting for Real Madrid youngster Arda Guler.

Guler joined Real Madrid for an initial fee of €20m last summer, but has largely struggled to nail down a regular spot in Carlo Ancelotti’s starting lineup. To date, the talent has managed just seven starts in all competitions for Los Blancos – three of which have come during the 2024/25 season.

Despite his lack of game time at club level, Guler has been a sensation at international level with Turkey. The 19-year-old was one of the stars of Euro 2024 over the summer, being the creative force behind his nation’s surprise run to the quarter-finals of the competition in Germany.

Speaking at a press event this week, FIFA World Cup winner and former Real Madrid star Ozil was full of praise for the young Turkey star.

When asked if he considers Messi or his former Madrid teammate Ronaldo to the best, Ozil surprisingly replied “Arda Guler” instead.

This isn’t the first time that Ozil has heaped compliments upon Guler, previously hailing himas the best ‘number 10’ in Turkey, while Ozil himself was plying his trade for Istanbul Basaksehir.

“Is there a better ’10’ than you [in Turkey]?Difficult question. A name occurs to me…I have a brother I believe in. I hope that God protects him from the evil eye: he is Arda Guler.”

The youngster will be hoping for more game time with Madrid this weekend when the club travel to face Celta Vigo in their tenth La Liga tie of the season so far.

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