Mesut Ozil reveals Jose Mourinho called him a "coward" in dressing-room rant

By Danielle Joynson, Staff Reporter | 02 March 2017

Mesut Ozil reveals that Jose Mourinho once branded him a "coward" in a half-time rant during the pair's time together at Real Madrid.

Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil has revealed that Jose Mourinho once called him a "coward" in an angry rant during the pair's time together at Real Madrid.

The German World Cup winner made the claims in his autobiography, which is being serialised by German newspaper Bild.

In one of the extracts, Ozil recalled how the Portuguese coach, who is now in charge of Manchester United, gave him a dressing down during a half-time interval.

The midfielder wrote: "'You think two beautiful passes are enough? You think you're so good that fifty percent is enough?!' He pauses. Stares at me with his dark brown eyes. I stare back. Like two boxers at the stare-down before the first round. He shows no emotion. Just waits for a response from me. How much I hate him right now. And I love Mourinho actually.

"'Oh, are you giving up now? You're such a coward. What do you want? To creep under the beautiful, warm shower? Shampoo your hair? To be alone? Or do you want to prove to your fellow players, the fans out there, and me, what you can do?'"

Both Ozil and Mourinho left Madrid in 2013, with the player moving to Arsenal and the coach returning to Chelsea.

The pair won the La Liga title, the Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup across a three-year spell.