With Isco and Bale on board, he was never likely to be first choice, either. Or rarely. Lacking the defensive discipline to play in central midfield (even compared to Modric, who won the ball back brilliantly against Athletic), the German struggles on the right because he is unable to go wide, lacks pace, cuts inside constantly and rarely tracks back. Both Bale and Di Maria are better options here, in any case.

That just leaves the playmaker position and that role is reserved for Isco. The former Malaga man is more of an all-round player than Ozil; more athletic, quicker, stronger and able to operate in a number of different positions, the Spain star also boasts brilliant vision and tremendous technique. Crucially, he will score goals as well. So far, he has hit three already in just three games and also set up one of Madrid's other three strikes in 2013-14. At 21, he is also nowhere near his peak. Whether he can go to form such a successful association with Ronaldo remains to be seen (Ozil set up 27 goals for Cristiano in three seasons), but all of the talent is there for him to become an ever better player than the German. Arguably, in fact, he is already there.

So instead of being left with an unhappy player struggling for consistency, Madrid have cashed in with the biggest sale in their history (€42m for Robinho in 2008 was the previous high). And although fans will remember how Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder were forced to move on against their will to accommodate Kaka and Ronaldo in 2009, this transfer was as much about Ozil's attitude and unwillingness to stay and fight as it was about making money for Madrid. So despite his tremendous talent, it was probably the best solution in the end. The only solution.