Former Real Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira has said he didn’t leave the club for money and that claims he did hurt him.
The German World Cup winner signed on a free transfer for Juventus last week, ending his five-year stay in the Spanish capital. The 28-year-old has been hampered by injury for the past two campaigns and told Welt am Sommtag that he needed a new challenge away from the cauldron of the Santiago Bernabeu.
“It hurt me when people said that. I can’t be accused of acting disloyally or improperly. Real Madrid offered me a mammoth contract that could potentially have seen me earn even more [than at Juve],” he stated.
And he added that he struggled to realise the size of the club when he joined in 2010, saying that people would recognise him all over the world, even when he looked to escape to the most remote destinations.
“Real Madrid is an even bigger club than it seems with thousands of supporters wherever you go. That obligation to win everything at all costs is something I had never experienced before.
“When I would search for holiday destinations, I would always think of somewhere very far away. But it didn’t matter what remote corner of the world I was in, people would always recognise me.”
