Fabian Delph has revealed he would never have left Aston Villa on a free transfer and values loyalty over money.
The midfielder has signed a new four-and-a-half year deal at the club and insisted he always saw his future at Villa.
Delph suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury in 2010 but has since become an England international, making his debut against Norway last year.
And he insisted he wanted to pay back both the club and chairman Randy Lerner for their support and would not have been tempted to leave by extra cash.
"It wouldn't have sat right with me to leave the club, especially on a free, after the faith everyone involved in the club have shown me. For me, that's just the way I am," he said.
"Going on a free I would have been better off but I'm a kid from Bradford, brought up on a council estate. I am not motivated by money, I look after my family.
"Most people in my situation would be looking to move on.
"I was never pushed. Conversations were going on for a while and I just needed to take my time.
"For me it was more about repaying the faith in the chairman.
"I feel like I've given 100 percent week in, week out.
"The chairman has been great. If you can imagine being a young boy and you're injured and the guy who has invested in me is calling me and giving me a text. You can imagine what that meant to me."
Delph has made 116 appearances, scoring six goals, since signing from Leeds for 6 million pounds in 2009 and is a key man for manager Paul Lambert.
He had been linked with a move to Liverpool but insisted he did not speak to any other clubs as his mind was made up to stay at Villa Park.
"I'm quite a straightforward person. I would never try to get into something like that," said the 25-year-old.
"We have agents for that. I told him to leave me alone as I want to focus on my football and get myself fit.
"He did as he was told. He's a great guy and a great friend. If I have a bit of respect from someone I seem to get that easy bond with someone. I've told him what my thoughts are.
"I knew probably about a week into it [two months of talks] I wanted to stay here."