If I can help to develop them as drivers to a level where perhaps one day they can compete regionally or internationally that would be amazing
MESUT OZIL has James Bond on his side and a licence to make a killing. Former Arsenal star Ozil is building an incredible business empire that wouldn't look out of place in any 007 blockbuster.
The German World Cup winner is about to become the rst professional footballer to launch his own boot brand.
He is boss of his M10 streetwear rm and esports team, has a huge property portfolio and boasts shares in a COSMETICS company and a Mexican football club.
Ozil also owns a chain of co ee shops, a health supplements laboratory, a sports clinic and has a licensing deal with a SOCK factory.
And he's about to issue his very own MONEY which will surely wow king entrepreneurs Je Besos, Richard Branson and Alan Sugar. But it was a meeting with Bond, James Bond, that gave him a shot at sportswear giants Nike, Adidas and Puma and which could leave their chunk of the lucrative leisurewear business shaken and stirred.
Ozil met famed US streetwear designer Bond (not MI6's secret agent) in Los Angeles, just after winning the 2014 World Cup.
In an exclusive SunSport interview, Ozil's agent Erkut Sogut revealed: "It is very cool having James Bond designing your own brand.
"A friend at a football agency in America introduced us and we had some Zoom and Facetime calls and then meetings before Ozil's M10 brand was launched in 2015.
"Creating and growing your own brand while you are still an athlete can be di cult.
"But the M10 brand had a turnover of more than £1 million in its rst year.
"Mesut has started his own esports team, with a purpose-built training facility in Dusseldorf and is now launching his own football boot."
Ozil, who joined Turkish club Fenerbahce after agreeing to terminate his whopping £350 000-a-week Gunners contract a year ago, has been wearing a prototype in matches.
But he is now ready to start selling the nished boots to the world.
He has become Global Creative Director of Football at Concave Asia and the footwear will be manufactured in the company's Indonesia HQ near Jakarta.
Sogut added: "Mesut is involved in designing how the M10 boots look, feel and perform. He will earn money on every single pair sold.
"Initially, they will be sold in 14 countries in South East Asia. Talks are ongoing to sell them in Europe and then worldwide."
The boots will range from £22-£225 and Sogut hopes they will be as successful as Nike's famous Air Jordan range.
Ozil's last sponsored boot deal with Adidas worth £22 million expired in 2020. And Sogut said: "We want to take on Adidas, Nike and Puma. Instead of promoting their brands he's made his own."
M10 t-shirts, caps, tracksuits, trainers and sweatshirts will all be made at the Indonesia factory and Sogut predicts boot sales in the rst year could earn Ozil upwards of £1.5 million.
Ozil, 33, has also licensed his brand to Italian brothers Alberto and Nicola Francheschi, who founded their high-end sneakers company Hide & Jack in 2014.
The company now sells Ozil "Magician" shoes made to commemorate his stunning solo 2016 Champions League goal for Arsenal against Ludogorets complete with a personal message from the player.
On top of that, Ozil also has another lucrative licensing deal with Austrian company Tapedesign which manufactures football socks with special rubber grips on the soles and worn by scores of Premier League players.
He also bought shares in Mexican football club Necaxa last year along with Hollywood A-lister Eva Longoria and model Kate Upton.
Sogut added: "I know the club's American owners personally so I negotiated that deal for Mesut.
"The shares are now three times more valuable than when he bought them. It was a very smart investment.
"There are plans to have ownership in more clubs in South America, and he is looking to buy shares in clubs all over the world. But not Arsenal! They are too expensive."
Ozil's 39 Steps co ee business is also expanding and he is set to open his next shop in Qatar ahead of this year's World Cup.
He is also a partner of a London sports clinic with ex-Arsenal physios Gary and Colin Lewin, former Gunners team-mate Aaron Ramsey and ex-Chelsea and Arsenal keeper Petr Cech.
And he jointly runs the hugely successful Unity health supplements laboratory with fellow former Gunner Mathieu Flamini.
However, Ozil's most surprising business arm is in cosmetics, where he has shares in CTZN - a unisex make-up company founded by US-born sisters Aleena, Aleezah and Naseeha Khan, who work in London and Dubai.
CTZN specialise in products for Asian and Middle East skin tones and Sogut declared: "Not many people know Mesut has a successful business in cosmetics!"
Ozil has a huge property portfolio, with houses in Germany, Turkey and England.
He now rents the luxurious Hampstead mansion he lived in when he was at Arsenal.
Sogut added: "Mesut's expanding business empire is a message to other footballers on what you can do when you are nearing the end of your playing career.
"But his businesses help fund his charity work.
"He gives a percentage of everything he makes to charity. He has been working with the German charity Big Shoe since 2010, helping to fund vital operations for sick underprivileged children all over the world.
"Last week he gave another £100,000 for the operations. In the whole time I have worked with him he has never said 'No' to a charity.
"He gives away millions every year. He believes if he shares a lot, he will get a lot, that is his mentality."
His next donation may be in crypto currency as he is launching his own NFT (non-fungible token).
Sogut revealed: "We are working on an M10 digital coin. This is our big 2022 project and we hope to launch this year. It means fans can buy Mesut's products with his own coins in his own ecosystem.
"These coins will also buy you Mesut's match-worn boots, seats in his executive box, Happy Birthday wishes and even the chance to meet him.
"He stands to earn far more from his business empire than he has from his football career."