Kerem Demirbay turned down a contract at Dortmund
Kerem Demirbay claims he turned down a professional contract at Borussia Dortmund as a youngster.
Bayer Leverkusen's Kerem Demirbay reveals he rejected a contract offer from Borussia Dortmund in the past.
Demirbay was playing for Dortmund's reserves and was offered a professional contract by the club, but opted for a move to Hamburger SV instead.
"They offered me a three-year contract as a pro. Jürgen Klopp was the coach at BVB back then," Demirbay said in an interview on Bayer Leverkusen's website and added:
"I remember how he called me into the room for chat and said: 'Come on, we want you.' With the mental strength I have today I would have stayed there and tried to battle my way through. But it was too much for me back then.
"I hadn't developed enough to keep up with the competition there. So I moved on to Hamburg and the rest of the story is pretty well known," Demirbay said.
Demirbay played for HSV from 2013 until 2016 when he joined Hoffenheim. He moved on to sign for Leverkusen in the summer.