Malappuram: Shocking football fans of Kerala, German footballer and EPL star Mesut Ozil has wished his namesake, a newborn in Manjeri, all the best, through a Facebook post on Monday.
Responding to the report that a die-hard fan of English football club Arsenal FC in Kerala has named his newborn after him, Mesut Ozil said in his Facebook post that it was "great honour to be the inspiration for the name of the child".
Inzamam Ul-Haq, the father of the child, is a resident of Manjeri in Kerala's Malappuram district, a place synonymous with football craze in the southern Indian state.
On Monday, Onmanorama had reported about the young parents, Inzamam Ul-Haq and Fida Sanam, and their baby, Mehd Ozil. The parents said that they named the boy so purely because of their love for the Gunners.
Representatives of Arsenal FC had visited the family of Inzamam in Manjeri one month ago. On Saturday, the Arsenal FC had posted video about Inzamam and family, titled 'A story of a special young fan from Kerala', on the official Facebook page of the club and it has already garnered around 2 lakh views on Facebook.
Inzamam, a 26-year old civil engineer, has been an ardent fan of the English club from childhood itself. Explaining his decision to choose the name Mehd Ozil, he had said that Ozil was his first priority as he is a big fan of Mesut Ozil.
The German midfielder has reacted with pleasure upon learning of the tribute, with the assist king even making a quip that Mehd Ozil can provide some assists of a different variety. "Hope Mehd Ozil will assist his family with lots of smiles and memories in the years to come," Mesut Ozil said in his FB note posted along with the video of Inzamam and his family.