CAIRO – Unveiling the secrets of his special performance, German national team star and Real Madrid midfielder Mesut Özil is keen on reciting verses of the Noble Qur’an and performing a short prayer before any football game.

“Before the start of any game, I perform a short prayer and recite some verses of the noble Qur’an,” Özil was quoted by Emarat Alyoum newspaper.

“I also ask Allah to grant me success.”

The superstar says that Qur’an and prayers are the secrets of his special performance with the Spanish royal team.

“I pray and my teammates know that they cannot talk to me during this brief period,” Özil, of Turkish origin, said.

“And this is the secret of my success.”

The 24-year-old German footballer plays for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and the Germany national football team.

Becoming a star from young age, Özil has been a youth national team member since 2006, and a member of the German national team since 2009.

He gained international attention during the 2010 FIFA World Cup and was nominated for the Golden Ball Award, which is awarded to the tournament’s best player.

Earlier this month, the Berlin branch of Madame Tussaud’s museum has unveiled a waxwork version of Özil.

At the age of 24, Özil becomes the youngest sportsman to figure in the Berlin museum.

Özil appears wearing his German national team strip, and joins some of the country’s greatest players, including Franz Beckenbauer, Jurgen Klinsmann and former goalkeeper Oliver Khan, as well as Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel in the museum.

Founded in 1902, Real Madrid is the world’s richest football club, generating €438.6 million in 2011.

The Spanish team is also considered the globe’s second most valuable, worth €1.4 billion.

It has attracted the biggest names in football such as Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.