Advertisement
Dublin: 4 °C Thursday 28 March, 2024
Özil celebrates after the final whistle in Rio PA Archive/Press Association Images
what a guy

German football star Özil used his World Cup bonus to pay for Brazilian kids' operations

Lovely gesture.

AFTER HELPING GERMANY claim the World Cup, midfielder Mesut Özil has announced he’ll be using part of his winners’ bonus to help sick Brazilian children.

Midfielder Özil, who was a key part of the team that beat Argentina in Sunday’s final, received a €300,000 bonus from the German football federation – as did each of his teammates.

And he has announced on his Facebook page that he’ll be putting some of the money towards surgery for a number of Brazilian children. He wrote:

This is my personal thank-you for the hospitality of the people of Brazil.

Özil funded operations for 11 children in Brazil before the tournament began – and said he would now raise that number to 23.

He made the donations as part of the Big Shoe charity effort, a German initiative which collects sponsorship for children in need to receive treatment.

Earlier reports suggested that Özil had donated his prize fund to the children of Gaza. However these have been denied by the player’s representative, according to The Guardian.

The German football federation will receive a winner’s cheque of around €26million from FIFA, according to ESPN.

More: Here’s what people are planning to do with their Garth Brooks money>

Your Voice
Readers Comments
17
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.