Ozil alleges Mourinho called him a coward during Real Madrid dispute

Mesut Ozil has shed light on a tense moment between himself and Jose Mourinho, accusing the Manchester United manager of calling him a "coward" while the two were at Real Madrid.

The pair spent three seasons together after they both arrived at the Santiago Bernabeu in the summer of 2010.

Despite going on to help guide Los Blancos to the Liga and Copa del Rey titles during their brief time together in Spain, Ozil revealed that his relationship with Mourinho was, at times, strained, according to Bild which has published an excerpt from his autobiography, Die Magie des Spiels (The Magic of the Game).

The Arsenal midfielder describes a heated encounter in which Mourinho once questioned the Germany international's effort after a match.

"You think two beautiful passes are enough. You think you're so good that 50 percent is enough." Mourinho allegedly said, as quoted by Ozil in the book.

The two then engaged in a tense moment of silence, with Ozil predicting his former manager was attempting to prod him into a negative reaction.

"He pauses. Stares at me with his dark brown eyes," he said. "I stare back. Like two boxers at the stare-down before the first round. He shows no emotion. Just waits for a response from me. How much I hate him right now. And I love Mourinho actually."

Mourinho continued to press after Ozil threw his shirt to the ground, saying, "Oh, are you giving up now? You're such a coward.

"What do you want? To creep under the beautiful, warm shower? Shampoo your hair? To be alone? Or do you want to prove to your fellow players, the fans out there, and me, what you can do."

Ozil didn't disclose when the incident took place, but the two eventually left the club in the summer of 2013 in favour of jobs in London. The 28-year-old joined Arsenal, while Mourinho returned to England for a second stint with Chelsea.