Sami Khedira: My decision to leave Real Madrid was not about money
Sami Khedira has moved to dispel any notion that his move to Juventus was fueled by money. The German joined Juventus on a free transfer from Real Madrid and signed a four-year deal with the Italian Club.
There were rumours that his move was driven by money. But he discarded them by saying that Real Madrid had offered him a huge contract to stay, but he decided to move as he wanted a change badly as he felt tired and extremely stressful at Madrid.
“Real Madrid offered me a huge contract and one in which I could have eventually won more. My decision to leave Real Madrid was not about money.” Khedira told German Newspaper Welt am Sonntag
“At one point I told my advisor, Jörg Neubauer, who incidentally is the biggest fan of Real Madrid, that I wanted a change. I was tired because in the end it was all extremely stressful.”
He had been plagued by injuries over the last two seasons and whenever he was fit, Ancelotti did not use him. When he was asked if he was acting in an unfair manner by blaming the club, he said, “It hurts me that they say that, You cannot blame me of acting in an unfair or wrong way.“
“Real Madrid are expected to win every match they play”
However, Khedira feels that his time at Real Madrid was fantastic and that the club is even bigger than it seems to be and people from even the remotest corners of the world knew Real Madrid and their players.
“However, I have to say they were five fantastic years. 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", he said.
Khedira thinks the expectations at Bernabéu are “unique” as the team is expected to win every time they take the field, saying, “That obligation to win everything at all costs is something I had never experienced before.”