Back to the Soccer Newsfeed

Arsenal Laid Off Its ‘Gunnersaurus’ Mascot. A Player Offered to Pay His Salary.

David Klein/Reuters

Mesut Ozil, one of soccer’s highest-paid stars, has offered to cover the salary of Arsenal’s Gunnersaurus mascot, a day after the man inside the English Premier League team’s dinosaur costume was let go to save money.

“I was so sad that Jerry Quy aka our famous & loyal mascot @Gunnersaurus and integral part of our club was being made redundant after 27 years,” Ozil, a midfielder, wrote on Twitter on Tuesday. “As such, I’m offering to reimburse @Arsenal with the full salary of our big green guy as long as I will be an Arsenal player.