After we won the Bundesliga in 2011, I got a text from my agent:
āHey Nuri, Real Madrid wants you.ā
Itās kind of funny that it just happened like that. Through a text. It wasnāt like you imagine when youāre a kid.
I had heard my name mentioned in transfer rumors before, but never with Real Madrid. And now, here they were. The white kits, the BernabĆ©u, the history. And I remembered the promise that Iād made to myself all those years ago. There was a part of me that wanted to say no. Dortmund had given me so much ā how could I leave them? It was hard to think about. I lost sleep. I talked for hours with my wife and family. But I had to speak with Dortmundās manager, JĆ¼rgen Klopp, before I could decide. I will remember our conversation forever.
āNuri, it is your choice,ā he told me. āBut if you leave, you must know, I will always be on your side. You are my friend forever.ā
āIf I stay,ā I said, āI will think about life in Madrid. I will be in Dortmund physically, but mentally ā¦ Iāll be lost. I couldnāt live like that.ā And I told him that I only had one life to live ā that I didnāt want to regret any part of it.
JĆ¼rgen understood, and he told me to follow my heart.
A few hours later, I announced my decision. My wife, who was four months pregnant, moved with me to Madrid. We had to start over, sort of. I spoke Spanish, but we had to figure out being pregnant in a foreign country. And then I got hurt in my first training session with Madrid ā life in Spain did not get off to a great start.
From pitch level, you canāt even see where it ends. Itās just ā¦ yellow, as far as the eye can see. Itās the greatest sight in sports.
In September 2011 our son arrived. He was perfect. And I was so thankful to be a father. My mom and mother-in-law flew down to be with us, and while they were there I kind of realized how much I missed home. Dortmund wasnāt just a club or city, it was where the most important people in my life were.
I tried to recover from injury as quickly as I could, but at when a club like Madrid is winning and playing well it can be very tough to get back in the team. I was out for six months, and when I was getting close to coming back, Dortmund called and asked if I wanted to come back. I hadnāt come to Madrid to quit. I went on loan to Liverpool to try to get back to the level I knew I could play at.
In England, I felt even further from home. I wasnāt playing well ā something was missing from my game. I couldnāt really figure it out. But then it sort of dawned on me: I wasnāt missing something from my game, I was missing something from my life. I needed to be part of the family at Dortmund again. The people there are the reason I played football like I do.
My agent made some calls, and a few weeks later I was on my way back home.
I wasnāt sure how the Yellow Wall would receive me when I came back. It had hurt them when I left, I knew that. I was a substitute in my first match back. I was warming up on the sidelines, and right before I was going to head onto the pitch, JĆ¼rgen called me over:
āNuri ā¦ close your eyes. Can you hear that?ā
I turned to the Yellow Wall and closed my eyes. They were singing my name.
āI really thought they were going to hate you,ā JĆ¼rgen said. And then he let out his classic booming laugh. He messed up my hair, pushed me out onto the pitch and the crowd erupted.
That bond that I have with the people of Dortmund will never be broken. I know that now.
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