Emre Can has revealed that Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers convinced him to snub a possible return to Bayern Munich in favour of joining the Reds.
Can, who spent two years at the Allianz Arena before joining Bayer Leverkusen in 2013, signed for Rodgers in July for a reported £9.7m.
The Bavarians had a buy-back clause included in his Leverkusen deal, which they would have been free to trigger in June.
However, the 20-year-old played it safe by joining the Anfield club, and claims that the Northern Irishman proved instrumental in luring him to Merseyside.
"Any move is a risk," he told The Mirror. "Nothing is guaranteed in football. I could have stayed at Bayer Leverkusen and eventually gone back to Bayern Munich.
"But at this stage Liverpool seemed the right thing to do. The manager was very important because I could see he believed in me straight away."
The Germany Under-21 international scored his first Liverpool goal in the 2-1 defeat to Chelsea earlier this month.
Shane Callaghan
