Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has refused to rule out a move for Mesut Ozil as the Arsenal star allows his contract to run down.
Ozil and team-mate Alexis Sanchez will be out of contract at the end of the season and have shown no inclination to sign extensions at the Emirates, despite offers worth £250,000-a-week and £300,000-a-week respectively.
United are among a host of sides considering a move for Ozil next summer, with Barcelona, Inter Milan and Fenerbahce also eyeing the 29-year-old.
Mourinho refused to comment on whether he would make a move for Ozil when asked ahead of this afternoon’s clash between United and Arsenal at the Emirates. However he seemed to agree with his counterpart Arsene Wenger that it will become increasingly common for players to run down their contracts as transfer fees rise.
“That’s football,” said Mourinho. “They finish their contracts. [Marouane] Fellaini finishes his contract.
“There are other important players in Europe in other teams that they finish their contracts. Sometimes players decide to go in this direction, which is the right that they have.
“They gamble because imagine one of these players has a big knee injury, if one of these players has one of these injuries, probably next season, he is without a club.
“Many times it is good for them because they sometimes go on a free transfer and they can get huge salaries. Other times, the clubs make an extra effort to keep them and they go with them also to very high salaries.
“I repeat, I am not speaking about Alexis or Ozil, I am speaking about the general situation. Even as managers, some of us prefer to let the contract go until the last year and in the last year we make the decision to stay, to leave. You know, it’s a risk for everyone, but sometimes the risk works and that’s football.”
