Marko Grujic has revealed the extent Werder Bremen went to in order to try and sign him from Liverpool this summer before he returned to Hertha Berlin on loan.
The Serbian midfielder claims that his prospective employers offered to pick him up in a private jet and show him around the club’s facilities, but he rejected the offer.
Instead, he opted to spend a second season with Hertha, where he admits he feels settled at the club and in the city after enjoying last season on loan in the German capital.
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“They (Werder Bremen) wanted to pick me up in Belgrade with a private jet, show me the stadium, the training ground, present the players,” Grujic said to Bild.
“I said I could come but only to visit the city - because I had already decided to join Hertha at that point. So, I stayed in Belgrade with my family for the last few days off. Then I came to Berlin and signed, it was a great feeling.
"Berlin is already a second home for me, I love living here. The lifestyle is great. For me it was important that Hertha were hungry for more if I chose to stay with them. I spoke with the manager and realised that everyone here wants to have better results than in recent years."
Grujic made 23 appearances last term, impressing despite struggling with injury and has picked up where he left off, scoring in a 2-2 draw against Bayern Munich on the opening day of the Bundesliga season.
This is the 23-year-old’s fourth loan spell since joining Liverpool in 2016 and he hopes it will be his last, revealing his ambition to play for the Reds next term, but admitting that, if he was to be sold, he would want to join Hertha permanently.
"It's my goal to play for Liverpool next season, a top European club,” Grujic continued.
“That's possible if I play regularly and well here at Hertha. But you never know in life, maybe Liverpool want to sell me next year. If that's the case, then I would love it if Hertha would pay the fee to sign me."