Ozil keeping it Real

Both clubs confirmed they had reached an agreement over the transfer of the 21-year-old attacking midfielder to the Bernabeu for an undisclosed fee.

The player, who was one of the stars of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa and had also been linked with a move to Manchester United, will undergo a medical in the Spanish capital and join fellow countryman Sami Khedira, who left Stuttgart for Madrid for 14 million euros ($19.93 million) earlier this northern summer, at the Bernabeu.

Bremen turned down an offer from the Spanish giant for Ozil on Friday but Madrid has now satisfied its demands for a player who would have been available on a free transfer when his contract expired in 12 months.

A statement on Madrid's official website read: "Mesut Ozil lands at Real Madrid after a standout performance at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The midfielder earned a permanent spot on Germany's senior side by the age of 21 after winning the 2009 Under-21 European Championship.

"His unique touch, unmatched individual technique, excellent ball control and deadly last pass make the German midfielder one of the brightest up-and-coming stars in European football."

Madrid has also brought in Angel Di Maria from Benfica and defender Ricardo Carvalho from Chelsea this northern summer as Jose Mourinho looks to win back the Primera Division crown from Barcelona in his first year in charge.

Ozil did not take part in Bremen's final training session ahead of the UEFA Champions League clash with Sampdoria.

Bremen's director of sport Klaus Allofs said: "We are respecting the player's wishes to take the next step in his career immediately."

Allofs had opened up new contract talks with the Germany international a year ago, but the player officially rejected the club's final offer prior to the World Cup.

From that moment, it was clear Bremen would be forced to sell the 21-year-old, who only had a year left to run on the three-year deal he signed when he arrived from Schalke in 2008, otherwise it would have lost him on a free transfer next northern summer.

Words to that effect from Ozil's father, who told Turkey's Hurriyet newspaper of his son's move to Real Madrid 'in any case', may have spurred Bremen on to accept Real's improved offer.

Allofs will also be glad to have resolved an issue which had threatened to overshadow his side's crucial clash with Sampdoria.

"I am worried that we don't have enough peace and quiet ahead of the game on Wednesday," Allofs said at the weekend.

Coach Thomas Schaaf now also knows he will not have a difficult team selection choice to make.

Had Ozil played in the Champions League qualifier, he would have been ruled out of appearing in the competition for another club this season, effectively ending any hope of the player moving on, and Schaaf was facing a choice of whether to pick an important member of his squad, or leave him out in order not to jeopardise a potential transfer.

That transfer has now gone through, however, with Ozil, who played 71 times for Bremen, scoring 12 goals, now set to play in the Champions League for Real.

Madrid confirmed that Ozil will be presented to the media at a press conference at the Bernabeu on Wednesday at 2pm local time.