Jamie Carragher slammed Mesut Ozil over allegedly not agreeing to a pay cut.
Ozil was reportedly one of three first-team players to reject a 12.5 percent 12-month pay reduction.
The playmaker of Turkish origin earns approximately £18.2m a year which means he would lose out on £2.3m under the current proposal.
Carragher described Ozil turning down the pay cut – if it turns out to be true – as being a PR own goal and admitted he was surprised at the snub.
READ: The Secret Life Of Arsenal Star Mesut Ozil
“I always felt this would be a problem. I’ve been there myself in a different situation when you’re trying to agree with 25 people in a dressing room. It’s never going to happen,” Carragher was quoted as saying in The Sun.
“I always felt there would be two strands of players not fully engaged with the rest of the squad in cuts of wages or deferrals.
“That would maybe a young lad who had just got into the squad and maybe didn’t have the revenue of other players. Or a player coming to the end of his contract and had maybe not earned big money throughout his career.
“But the fact the highest-paid player and biggest name at Arsenal has not gone with the rest of his team and stuck together.
“Even if I was in Ozil’s position and I did not agree with it, I think the rest of the team, the manager and people at the club had decided to be as one and make the decision, then you have to go with it.
“Football is a team game, it’s not an individual sport. I think Ozil in this situation has got to go with what the rest of his team are doing. It’s a massive PR own goal.”
Ozil has, however, been involved in several charitable projects and gives away at least £2m a year through donations according to The Sun.
The 31-year-old has been directly funded the following:
- 1000 operations for children across the world through the Big Shoe project
- Feeding 100,000 homeless people at 16 refugee camps in Turkey on his wedding day
- Paying £240,000 to fund surgery for sick children in Brazil
- Inviting disabled children to his box at the Emirates stadium for every home game
