Life after Mesut Özil may be harder than anticipated for Real Madrid. A number of players recently revealed their astonishment over the move and one is reportedly "annoyed" by the transfer.
Defender Alvaro Arbeloa recently revealed that he thought the news of the transfer was a bad joke.
"[Özil] said goodbye on Sunday but I thought it was a joke," Arbeloa said, according to ESPN. "There is nobody like him. It will be tough for the fans because they loved him."
Özil was seemingly replaced by young Spaniard Isco in the central midfield to start the season, but even Isco was surprised at his teammate's departure.
"The truth is I was very surprised, and even more after he said last week he was going to stay," Isco said. "We all know Özil he has a lot of quality and is a player capable of changing a game."
However, the player most frustrated by the news is reportedly Cristiano Ronaldo. According to ESPN, Ronaldo told friends that he was "annoyed" and that the transfer "is really bad news for me as he was the player who knew best my movements in front of goal."
Özil was a seemingly necessary casualty of Madrid's ambitions to bring in Gareth Bale. Özil was battling for a spot on the right wing and in central midfield but found himself on the bench in recent matches. His 50 million euro transfer provided Madrid with a quick recoup of the 100 million euros they spent to bring in Bale.
The news seemingly angered the team's fan base with only 37 percent of fans backing the idea of a move, according to a Marca online poll.
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