Real pushing Werder to sell Ozil: press

BERLIN (AFP) – Werder Bremen on Monday insisted their German World Cup sensation Mesut Ozil was going nowhere despite Spanish giants Real Madrid saying they plan to make a new offer to prise him away.

Spanish sports newspaper Marca said Jose Mourinho’s side planned to offer 14 million euros for the 21-year-old midfielder, five million more than previously, but Werder sports director Klaus Allofs insisted that the player was staying put.

Allofs had derided a first offer from Real as “unacceptable” and said Monday: “There is nothing new. I have already said the offer is unacceptable, I might say risible. Mesut is under contract with Werder and I believe he will remain so.

“We have not received a new offer and we rejected the first,” he added.

German media earlier reported that a 16-million-euro price tag had been placed on Ozil, whose contract with Werder expires in June 2011.

Arsenal and Manchester United are also reportedly monitoring the situation.

The player, who joined Bremen in January 2008 for 4.25 million euros, impressed during the World Cup this summer in which Germany finished third.

Ozil himself told the two Spanish sports papers that he could move to Real this season.

The deadline for any such transfer could be Wednesday, when Bremen takes on Italy’s Sampdoria in the Champions League. If Ozil plays, he would be ineligible to appear for Real in the same competition.