Mesut Ozil: Throwback to When Former Arsenal, Real Madrid Star Gifted Kenyan Child

• Mesut Ozil's long career saw him achieve a lot of things on the field of the play
• Dubbed the 'assist king,' he won trophies while at both Real Madrid and Arsenal
• Ozil also made the day of a Kenyan child wearing the German's jersey number

Mesut Ozil has decided to call it quits on his career that had extreme highs and lows.

It was a career that took him to two of Europe's biggest clubs, a World Cup-winning voyage with Germany, and a bitter fallout with Mikel Arteta in North London.

In an emotional message shared across his social media handles, the 34-year-old thanked everyone he had interacted with during his illustrious 17-year spell at Shackle, Werder Bremen, Real Madrid, Arsenal, Fenerbache and finally, Basaksehir.

But even as he thanked those who played a part in his career, one Lawrence Masira remains indebted to the attacking midfielder.

Arda Turan: When former Atletico Madrid star hurled a boot at linesman in anger

Football

How Ozil 'met' Lawrence Masira

Masira, a Kenyan boy from Nairobi, went viral thanks to a tweet from sports journalist, Eric Njiru.

The reported took a photo of the boy donning a handmade Arsenal jersey with Ozil's name and his number at Arsenal (10) written on the back with a marker pen.

At that time, Masira was herding cows along one of the roads in the Kenyan capital.

Njiru uploaded the photo of the child and his 'jersey' to Twitter, tagging both Arsenal and Ozil. He then relayed what a staunch Gunners fan Masira was and how he had expressed a desire to one day meet Ozil.

Ozil's response to Masira

To everyone's surprise, Ozil saw the photo and responded passionately - much to Masira's bewilderment.

Aidan Music: Meet the 9-year-old who crossed two oceans and travelled 28 hours to watch Ronaldo

Football

"The picture of a Kenyan boy with a self-made shirt on Twitter touched me so much. And look at Lawrence now - it's so heartwarming to see him and his brothers happy," Ozil said.

Then at Arsenal, Ozil responded by buying merchandise for Masira and his younger brother. Njiru was tasked with delivering the gifts of Gunners jerseys and boots to the overjoyed boys.

Thus, the German did not just wow fans on the pitch with his dazzling skills but also off the pitch with his benevolent actions.

His famous goal against Ludogorets will remain in the minds of people but for Masira, he will have a tad more to remember Ozil by as he begins his retirement.

Ozil's split with Germany

Sports Brief also reported on the 34-year-old helping Die Mannschaft to glory in Brazil in 2014 before quitting the international scene.

Ozil's acrimonious split with Germany followed the European giants crashing out of the 2018 World Cup tournament in Russia.

Of Turkish descent, Ozil's stellar performances on the pitch were often overshadowed by politics and claims of racism against him.