Anthony Ujah has revealed that he turned down "bigger financial offers" to join Werder Bremen.
Ujah made the switch from Cologne to Bremen at the beginning of May, attracting their interest after scoring 34 goals in 84 league games for the Billy Goats over two years, but he has revealed that they were not the only club who wanted to sign him.
Speaking to BBC Sport, Ujah admitted that he had "two options," either to "follow the money" or to continue his "career development."
He declared that he has "big ambitions" in his career and that by taking the "route" of money over development at the age of just 24 "could affect [his] progress." Thus, he was quick to turn down big money in Russia and China when he decided that the time had come to leave Cologne, in search of "a completely fresh challenge away from [his] comfort zone."
Ujah chose Bremen because he felt their offer "fit into [his] ambition and desire," despite "other clubs [presenting] interesting offers as well."
The Nigerian international elaborated, explaining that when he spoke with Bremen's coach, Viktor Skrypnyk, he was "surprised" as the manager started "analysing [his] football, strength and how [he] fit into [Skrypnyk's] plans."
He credited the coach's "exceptional interest to details" and was impressed by the "time [he] spent to study [Ujah's] game," saying these both influenced his decision to join the club too, as it motivated him to "repay" the manager for the interest whilst aiming to "move [his] game and career to the next level."
Another reason he was attracted to Bremen was because of the strikers that have played for the club before and have since gone on to do incredible things.
Ujah named "Claudio Pizarro, Ivan Klasnic" and "Miroslav Klose" in particular when discussing this factor, and added that he hopes that good form at Bremen can help him "get another chance" with his national team, as he has been a notable omission from recent squads.
Yet, he concluded by saying that his main focus is "to get started with Bremen."