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Mesut Özil vs Kevin De Bruyne;
in their primes, a thread.
in their primes, a thread.
A few notes to start off with.
- stats are taken directly from ‘fbref’
- the ‘games played’ is calculated by minutes/90 to give accurate results
- to save space, Özil will be addressed by
and De Bruyne will be addressed by 
- when ‘*’ is used, it used for just that tweet
- stats are taken directly from ‘fbref’
- the ‘games played’ is calculated by minutes/90 to give accurate results
- to save space, Özil will be addressed by
and De Bruyne will be addressed by - when ‘*’ is used, it used for just that tweet
- this thread is comparing two playmakers at their peaks, Özil’s being 3 years at Real Madrid and De Bruyne’s 5 years at Manchester City
- this is not to hate on any player, but to state facts which are backed up with context to prove who was better in their prime
- this is not to hate on any player, but to state facts which are backed up with context to prove who was better in their prime
To start, I’ll be comparing the average records for the two squads they played for.
Real Madrid (10-13)
109 goals scored
36 goals conceded
92 points
1 title
*Manchester City (15-19)
88 goals scored
33 goals conceded
86 points
2 titles
*not including incomplete 19/20.
Real Madrid (10-13)109 goals scored
36 goals conceded
92 points
1 title
*Manchester City (15-19)88 goals scored
33 goals conceded
86 points
2 titles
*not including incomplete 19/20.
Real Madrid averaged 2.42 points per game where as Manchester City averaged 2.26 points per game.
As you can see, these squads are very comparable and allows us to be able to preform a direct comparison between Mesut Özil and Kevin De Bruyne.
As you can see, these squads are very comparable and allows us to be able to preform a direct comparison between Mesut Özil and Kevin De Bruyne.
Now that we have established the basis, we can see their stats at their respective clubs.
for Madrid (10-13)
106 games
23 goals (0.22)
60 assists (0.56)
83 goals + assists (0.78)
for City (15-20)
175 games
50 goals (0.29)
80 assists (0.46)
130 goals + assists (0.74)
for Madrid (10-13)106 games
23 goals (0.22)
60 assists (0.56)
83 goals + assists (0.78)
for City (15-20)175 games
50 goals (0.29)
80 assists (0.46)
130 goals + assists (0.74)
Despite De Bruyne having more goals scored per 90, Özil is superior when taking into account assists as well.
Next, we can look closer in depth to their stats in just the league.
for Madrid (10-13)
80 games
19 goals (0.24)
47 assists (0.59)
66 goals + assists (0.83)
for City (15-20)
123 games
31 goals (0.25)
61 assists (0.50)
92 goals + assists (0.75)
for Madrid (10-13)80 games
19 goals (0.24)
47 assists (0.59)
66 goals + assists (0.83)
for City (15-20)123 games
31 goals (0.25)
61 assists (0.50)
92 goals + assists (0.75)
Once again, we can see that despite De Bruyne edging the goal scoring aspect, Özil blows De Bruyne out of the water for domestic competitions.
Now, we can look closer in depth to their stats in the Champions League.
for Madrid (10-13)
26 games
4 goals (0.15)
13 assists (0.50)
17 goals + assists (0.65)
for City (15-20)
28 games
6 goals (0.21)
11 assist (0.39)
17 goals + assists (0.61)
for Madrid (10-13)26 games
4 goals (0.15)
13 assists (0.50)
17 goals + assists (0.65)
for City (15-20)28 games
6 goals (0.21)
11 assist (0.39)
17 goals + assists (0.61)
It is quite close here. Both have done their fair share when playing against Europe’s best.
Even though it is irrelevant to this thread, it’s fun to note that Mesut Özil has the 5th most Champions League assists of all time.
But he’s not a big game player?
Even though it is irrelevant to this thread, it’s fun to note that Mesut Özil has the 5th most Champions League assists of all time.
But he’s not a big game player?
Lastly, we will look at individual accomplishments during their primes.
(10-13)
- Germany POTY (11, 12, 13)
- EURO TOTY (12)
- UEFA TOTY (12, 13)
- 10th player in Europe (12)
(15-20)
- PL Playmaker (18)
- PL TOTY (18)
- UEFA TOTY (17, 18)
(10-13)- Germany POTY (11, 12, 13)
- EURO TOTY (12)
- UEFA TOTY (12, 13)
- 10th player in Europe (12)
(15-20)- PL Playmaker (18)
- PL TOTY (18)
- UEFA TOTY (17, 18)
When looking at individual accomplishments, they are quite similar. For example, they both have been in UEFA’s TOTY two times.
However, Özil has achieved outside of just his club during this period, and that is being Germany’s POTY for 3 consecutive years (5 in total).
However, Özil has achieved outside of just his club during this period, and that is being Germany’s POTY for 3 consecutive years (5 in total).
Before anyone says Mesut Özil was carried by Real Madrid, let’s compare De Bruyne’s ‘iconic’ Wolfsburg season to Özil’s underrated Werder Breman season.
for Wolfsburg (14-15)51 games
16 goals (0.31)
23 assists (0.45)
39 goals + assists (0.76)
for Werder Bremen (09-10)36 games
9 goals (0.25)
20 assists (0.55)
29 goals + assists (0.80)
Both of these seasons are very good, however it is clear that 21 year old Mesut Özil out preformed 23 year old Kevin De Bruyne.
Both of them ended the season with a DFB-Pokal.
I wonder why De Bruyne’s season is talked about more, it seems to be down to standards.
Both of them ended the season with a DFB-Pokal.
I wonder why De Bruyne’s season is talked about more, it seems to be down to standards.
In the end, De Bruyne will continue to play for a super team for years to come, and maybe his statistics will end up being better.
But as Manchester City fans have always said when defending David Silva, “football is more than goals and assists”.
But as Manchester City fans have always said when defending David Silva, “football is more than goals and assists”.
As I have showed you through out these tweets, Prime Mesut Özil reigns superior.
End of thread.
End of thread.
