Henrikh Mkhitaryan has hit back at critics who claimed that he chose to move to Manchester United for financial reasons, the reports.
The Armenian playmaker joined United last summer in a deal worth £30m, after three years at Borussia Dortmund.
But Mkhitaryan insisted that the deal was more about continuing his development as a footballer than boosting his bank balance.
‘I can not understand that, and that’s wrong,’ he told German newspaper Bild, when asked about moving for the money.
‘If it were just about money, I would have transferred from Shakhtar Donetsk to Anzhi Makhachkala and not to Borussia Dortmund.
‘But I did not want that. I wanted to develop further.’
The midfielder also had a retort for Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke, who has been a vocal critic of him since the move.
Watzke criticised the fact that Mkhitaryan did not take a penalty against Bayern Munich in the German Cup final last season, which Dortmund lost in a shoot-out after a goalless draw.
‘If he wants to evaluate me on the basis of one game, this is wrong,’ said Mkhitaryan.
‘He has probably forgotten what I did the whole season before. I would have scored a penalty in Berlin.
‘But there’s a coach and eleven players on the pitch, and we discussed who would take.’
Mkhitaryan is the second United player to arrive at Old Trafford from the Bundesliga in the last two seasons, following Bastian Schweinsteiger.
And although the German international fell out of favour at the beginning of Jose Mourinho’s time in charge, he is now back with the squad, to Mkhitaryan’s delight.
‘I’m glad he got another chance,’ added Mkhitaryan. ‘He knows exactly what needs to be done on the pitch.
‘I can only report positively about him, because he has a great character.’