Mesut Ozil has gifted his boots and shirts to a young fan named Lawrence Masira in Nairobi.
Mesut Ozil is one of the generous players in world football right now. He did surprise a young fan named Lawrence Masira from Nairobi by gifting him shirts and boots.
Lawrence Masira is a huge Arsenal and Mesut Ozil fan. Learning his passion for the club and player, his mother decided to buy him an Arsenal jersey, but the name was not printed at the back. The kid is one of the biggest fans of the Arsenal midfielder, so he decided to write Ozil’s name with the marker on the back which attracted a journalist.
Eric Njiru, the journalist, posted the photo of Lawrence and tagged Mesut Ozil on Twitter last December. The Gunners midfielder messaged Njiru through Twitter’s messenger and wanted to surprise the kid. Hence, he decided to send a pair of boots and many jerseys to Lawrence through Njiru.
Lawrence Masira spoke to the BBC and said that he likes Mesut Ozil the most and wanted to write down his name with the marker pen at the back of his Arsenal’s shirt.
“My name is Lawrence Masira. I felt in my heart that I should write Mesut Ozil’s name on my jersey and then I can go and play like him.”
“I am an Arsenal fan. I listen to the radio because we don’t own a TV. I listen to Arsenal’s matches. My mom bought me an Arsenal jersey. While I was walking, I picked up a marker pen. I felt in my heart that I should write down Mesut Ozil’s name.
“Ozil’s style of play is what makes me like him. He can help his side score goals.” said Lawrence.
Eric Njiru, who acted as the bridge in fulfilling the kid’s happiness by posting this photo on Twitter said that he went through something similar to Lawrence as a young boy and wanted to help him out.
“I was coming from the garage and I saw a little boy herding cows. Ozil’s name was written at the back of the jersey with a marker pen. I saw myself in him, like back when I was young because we all used to do this.”
Njiru was surprised to receive a response from the world cup winner to that tweet.
“I took a photo and then I tweeted it that reached Mesut Ozil himself. He sent me a message on Twitter telling me that it was so happy to see that and he would like to see how he would help the young boy. And that is how the conversation between me and Mesut Ozil started.
“When he responded to that tweet, I was like ‘Wow’. It was really surprising and touching to see that Mesut Ozil could actually message me and asked me to go and reach out to that boy.” Eric Njiru added.
“It’s a good thing for the kid and even for Ozil himself. He is the king of assists and of course, now he came to assist the young boy.”
Lawrence, who received the gift from Mesut Ozil, thanked him and believes to meet his idol one day in person.
“I opened the box with my mum. I found lots of jerseys and genuine boots. The day Eric bought me the boots and shirts, I felt good in my heart. And I believed one day that I could meet Mesut Ozil in person. I want to thank Mesut Ozil.”
The young boy says he aspires to play for Arsenal one day and wants to help out his mother by bailing out of the current torrid situation.
“Football makes me happy because people tell me that I’m good at it. In my heart, I feel that one day even I will go abroad to play football.
“When I grow up, I would like to play for Arsenal, then I can help out my mum. I want to build her a house and buy her a car.”
