Borussia Dortmund captain Mats Hummels has said he did not include a release clause in his contract in order to set an example to his teammates.
- Buczko: Dortmund will cope without injured Reus
Hummels, 25, is under contract at Dortmund until 2017. He signed a new deal in 2012, and told transfermarkt.de in quotes reported by spox.com: "I could have had that [release] clause, but I made a conscious decision against it. When I extended the contract, I wanted to set an example."
The defender, one of the stars of Germany's World Cup win in Brazil, has been linked with Manchester United and Barcelona.
He said he would not rule out a move at some point in the future but stressed: "I couldn't be happier at any other club in the world right now. Should I make a move somewhere else, I would want that to be a fair deal for everyone."
Hummels joined Dortmund on loan from Bayern Munich in January 2008, with the deal being made permanent a year later. He has since played 171 Bundesliga games for BVB.
"If Bayern had not bought Breno for 12 million euros [from Sao Paulo] back then, I'd never have left," he explained. "But that's football. I was basically forced to make my own luck. It was the best thing that could have happened to my career."
Hummels, named Dortmund captain ahead of the new season, offered his thoughts on the ongoing rivalry between his club and Bayern, which deepened in the summer as the two clubs became embroiled in a war of words over the future of Dortmund star Marco Reus.
"Bayern have found it difficult against us for years now," Yahoo.com reported him as saying. "They want to weaken or unsettle every opponent they are aware of and take seriously. It's the biggest praise that Bayern are concerned about us."