Manchester United failed to tempt Mats Hummels away from Borussia Dortmund in the summer. He had been tipped as a perfect replacement for the outgoing Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.

The defender has today revealed that it was flattering to be linked with United but that he wasn’t tempted to leave Germany.

“It’s nice to hear that big clubs like that are interested in you,” he said. “I take that as a compliment but it doesn’t influence me in any way, otherwise. We earn enough here in Dortmund. There will always be someone who can pay more than BVB but Dortmund have made a lot of progress during my time here. In any case I believe it’s enough for me. If one day I start thinking about playing abroad, money won’t be the reason. I don’t even think about that at the moment. We still have so much further to go here.”

Hummels joined Dortmund from his boyhood club, Bayern Munich, in 2009 and Louis van Gaal reportedly regretted the decision. The defender is happy to be at the club and doesn’t seem to have any plans to leave soon.

“People often speak about the Dortmund ‘project’ in that context but I don’t really like that word,” Hummels said. “It’s too unemotional and sounds so technical. I’ve been here for six and a half years and it’s simply more exciting and more difficult to win trophies as an underdog. Everybody can win things with 25 superstars in the squad. At BVB, every single player has more responsibility but also more opportunity. It’s difficult to win trophies with Dortmund but it’s always possible. And when it happens, the feeling is simply indescribable. When we won the championship for a second time in 2012, each one of us could have gone wherever we wanted. But I thought: ‘No, what we have here is something truly unique.’ I’m happy I felt this way. You don’t often find a team where people are really friends with each other. If you’ve got the chance to play at such a high level with your mates you have to hold on to that for as long as possible.”