Ronaldo, Benzema, Ramos: Mesut Ozil named his stunning dream XI in 2015

Happy birthday, Mesut Ozil.

In the history of modern men’s football, few players have incapsulated the magic of the beautiful game more than Ozil with his mesmeric touch and captivating nonchalance making everything look so, so easy.

At the end of the day, while it might be the world-class stars churning out crazy statistics week in, week out who ultimately rise to the top, it’s the entertainers and mavericks that truly get fans shuffling through the turnstiles every week.

You know, the Allan Saint-Maximins and Hatem Ben Arfas of this world where you just know that every time you see them they're going to produce a moment of magic you'll talk about for hours afterwards in the pub.

And it just so happens that Ozil was one of the very greatest players to ever fit into that category, combining his undoubted entertainment factor with the data and trophies to back it up.

Not only did the German star bring supporters to their feet whenever he touched the ball, but he also plundered truckloads of assists in his prime and bagged a World Cup winners' medal to boot.

The moral of the story here is that despite Ozil's career petering out and falling off the radar in recent years, he will continue to be remembered and revered as an absolute gem of the 21st century in the hearts of the fans.

And no doubt for plenty of his teammates, too, because the birthday boy also had the pleasure of sharing the dressing room with countless other members of the last 22 years' finest players.

Across his times with Real Madrid, Arsenal and the German national team in particular, Ozil rubbed shoulders with fellow world champions as well as Champions League icons and Ballon d'Or winners.

As such, Ozil must have an awfully tough time choosing whenever