Andre Schurrle has revealed he sought permission from Germany coach Joachim Low before finalising a move from Chelsea to Wolfsburg.
"The coach said that I could do it," said the 24-year-old in his first press conference for Die Wölfe (The Wolves), who romped to a shock 4-1 win over Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich on Friday. "He was all for it.
"He said he saw this as an excellent step for me. So it's nice to have an opinion like that behind me."
Schurrle, who has 42 caps for Germany, is back in the German top tier after 19 months at Stamford Bridge, having previously played for Mainz and Bayer Leverkusen.
News of the attacking midfielder's possible transfer first broke on Friday, but the deal stalled over the weekend before being completed on Monday, much to his relief.
"I am happy it worked out," said Schurrle, whose cross led to Mario Gotze scoring the winner in last year's FIFA World Cup Final™. "The last few days were very stressful for me. I was sitting on my phone the whole time and was just hoping that the call would come to say I can go back to Germany. But I was always sure it would work out."
Mourinho gratitude
Schurrle, who joined Chelsea in 2013, believes the guidance of Jose Mourinho helped him blossom as a player.
"I'd never regret it," he said. "It was a great experience and I love Chelsea. I developed myself under Jose Mourinho, which has helped me tremendously. I am a different player to the one who went to Chelsea.
"I had a good time there, I was a regular in the team before illness made me take a step backwards. Even in December, I thought that I wanted to stay with Chelsea, but in the last month things developed so that I came to the conclusion something had to change. Then came the interest from Wolfsburg and I quickly realised that I really wanted to go."
Second-placed Wolfsburg host Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga on Saturday. Coach Dieter Hecking said Schuerrle will be in the squad, but did not say whether he would start.
Source: FIFA.com