Sami Khedira has no plans to leave Real Madrid in January and says his agent is still in talks with the club over a new deal.
Khedira, 27, is only under contract with the European champions until the end of the season, and so has been linked with a move away in the winter transfer window.
But speaking to kicker, the Germany international, who has not made the matchday squad for Madrid's last two games, dismissed speculation that he will be leaving before his current deal expires.
"As of now, I see no reason to leave the club in the winter," he said. "Real Madrid are a great destination, and I have locked this club in my heart. There is no grounds for me to say that I want or that I have to leave."
Despite contract talks between Madrid and Khedira reportedly breaking down in the summer, the midfielder did not rule out the possibility of extending his stay at the Santiago Bernabeu.
"I said back then that I am averse to signing a new contract, but my agent is still in talks with the club," he said. "We are top of the league in Spain, lead our Champions League group, and can win the FIFA Club World Cup. A lot of great challenges are waiting for me at Real. Moreover, I rate the coach [Carlo Ancelotti] highly because of his knowledge and his way of handling things. He gives me the feeling that I am needed."
Khedira sustained a thigh problem in August upon joining up with the Germany squad for a friendly against Argentina -- just over a month after missing out on the World Cup final with a last-minute injury. He then briefly returned to the Madrid squad, before being rested again by Ancelotti.
"I was out injured for six weeks, and made the squad after only two training sessions with the team. That says everything about how the club and the coach bank on me," Khedira added.
But Khedira, who against Gibraltar on Friday is set for his first Germany match since the World Cup semifinal against Brazil, believes he is now nearing his best again.
"Once I am at 100 percent, I am a candidate for the [Madrid] starting lineup," he said.
While Khedira has suffered his fair share of injuries over the past year, having also sustained an anterior cruciate ligament tear in November 2013, the midfielder has enjoyed plenty of success on the pitch as well.
Having battled through the rehabilitation process from the long-term injury, he got his hands on the Champions League trophy with Madrid, before then helping Germany to the World Cup.
"I followed the lowest low of my career with the highest highs. It began with a huge setback, and could not have ended on a better note," Khedira said. "But those months also took me to my limits. To heal an anterior cruciate ligament tear in record time, to play a Champions League final, to be a leader at the World Cup, and get fit at the same time, the physical strain, the travelling, the titles -- I was overwhelmed by all the events and all the emotions."