Mesut Özil donates World Cup winnings to 23 children's surgeries in Brazil, and not to Gaza, agent confirms
Arsenal's German midfielder has given away his World Cup winnings to 23 young people's surgeries as "a personal thank-you for the hospitality"
After helping Germany lift the World Cup midfilder Mesut Özilhas captured the hearts of Brazilian youngsters, after revealing he has donated around £350,000 of his personal winnings to 23 children's surgeries in the South American country.
The Arsenalplaymaker, 25, confirmed the news on his Facebook page, and wrote: "Prior to the #WorldCup I supported the surgery of eleven sick children. Since the victory of the #WorldCup is not only due to eleven players but to our whole team, I will now raise the number to 23. this is my personal thank-you for the hospitality of the people of Brazil. #Bigshoe #Brasil2014."
His donation sparked confusion on social media sites, with many claiming that his earnings were to be sent to the children of Gaza to aid their recent plight.
The rumours, which started to circulate on Twitter on July 11, led to his represenative, Roland Eitel, to deny them. "The claim that Mesut donated money to Gaza is not true," he said. "Maybe in the future, who knows? He donated money to causes in Brazil and he is now on holiday."
Last month, after reaching the second round of the tournament in Brazil, Algeria donated their £5.25m prize money to the people of Gaza.
Striker Islam Slimani revealed that the entire squad were planning to donate the money to the territory because "they need it more than us", reported theDaily Mail.
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