Mesut Ozil has paid homage to Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo on the same day the Portuguese forward signed a new long-term deal with the Spanish club.

The Arsenal playmaker emerged as one of the game's most formidable talents during a three-year spell at the Bernabeu, arriving in north London in 2013 with the well-deserved nickname 'King of Assists'.

Many of those assists (27, in fact) were finished off by Ronaldo and Ozil believes playing with the three-time Ballon d'Or winner helped to make him the player he is today.

Mesut Ozil directly assisted 27 goals for Cristiano Ronaldo between 2010 and 2013

Speaking to Arsenal's official YouTube channel, Ozil said: 'Cristiano Ronaldo, I never saw one guy like him.

'He is the first guy in the dressing room and the last guy to go home. He wants to fight even in a training game.

'He made me better on the pitch. Of course, I give my assists, a lot, to him and he knows. But I really enjoyed playing with him because he does not need a lot of chances.

'So even if I give him two assists, he will score two. Amazing player. One of the greatest players in history.'

Ozil discussed a variety of topics during the video, including his relationship with Ronaldo

Ozil signed for Real Madrid following his spectacular displays for Germany at the World Cup

Ozil said he has never met anyone like Ronaldo and describes him as one of the best in history

One of Ozil's biggest and best moments in his career came in the 2014 World Cup when he inspired Germany on their way to becoming the first European team to win the tournament in South America.

While they had to beat Argentina in the final, it is their semi-final victory against Brazil that is still talked about today. Germany beat the hosts 7-1 in the Maracana and were infamously 5-0 up after just 29 minutes.

Ozil admits he and his Germany team-mates felt bad for their counterparts following the final whistle and revealed that he felt obliged to apologise to David Luiz, then of PSG, for the manner of their victory.

Ozil and Arsenal team-mate Per Mertesacker were part of Germany's World Cup triumph

He said: 'Of course, all the players on the pitch were a little bit surprised. But after 20 minutes, 4-0 you can't realise what has happened.

'If you lose a big game like that in your country and you see the fans crying, the players crying, you feel it with them. So I went to David Luiz and really apologised.

He told Luiz: 'You have a nice country with nice people, and with what we've learned here, we've had a really good time.'