German soccer star donates World Cup winnings to needy Brazilian children

German soccer star donates World Cup winnings to needy Brazilian children
(Image credit: Facebook)

German midfielder Mesut Özil plans to spend his ample World Cup winnings not on himself, but on surgeries for 23 Brazilian children. Özil helped cover the surgeries of 11 children before the World Cup began, and used the $600,000 payout from winning the tournament to bump that total up to 23 — matching the number of players on the German team.

"This is my personal thank you for the hospitality of the people of Brazil," Özil wrote on his Facebook page to announce the donation.

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Jon Terbush

Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.