Germany and Arsenal superstar Mesut Ozil's representative has denied
claims that the star was set to donate his £350,000 [$600,000] World Cup winnings to the children of Gaza following his country's triumph in the global spectacle.
"The claim that Mesut donated money to Gaza is not true," said the midfielder's represenative Roland Eitel.
"Maybe in the future, who knows? He donated money to causes in Brazil and he is now on holiday."
On his Facebook page, Ozil announced that he had paid for 23 Brazilian children's surgeries due to Germany's extra-time win over Argentina.
"Prior to the #WorldCup I supported the surgery of eleven sick children [in Brazil]. Since the victory of the #WorldCup is not only due to eleven players but to our whole team, I will now raise the number to 23," he wrote.
As the conflict in the Middle East rages following a failed ceasefire, it was earlier claimed that Ozil was ready to give the £237,000 bonus he received for helping Germany win the final, and the £118,000 he received for Germany's semi-final win, to the occupied territory.
Ozil, however, did not confirm the donation himself and the reports of his Gaza generosity have now been disputed.
The Arsenal star is of Turkish descent and a practising Muslim who recites the Quran before games. He controversially opted not to fast during the tournament, which fell in the holy month of Ramadan in which Muslims fast from dawn until sunset.
Despite the Gaza donation reports proving false, Ozil reportedly caused controversy when he previously declined to shake a Fifa official's hand because of his support for Israel.
...sky sports just showed a clip of marotta stating in a conference that vidal is not for sale, is important to the club and has never been put on the market for sale
twellman
