“I was very well received by the other players,”Armenian midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan said at his first press conference as player of Borussia Dortmund.
“My teammates’ attitude came as a great help, with my roommate, winger Kevin Großkreutz already teaching me German,” reviersport.de quotes Mkhitaryan as saying.
Borussia Dortmund’s new signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan has begged not to be compared to Mario Goetze and wants to prove he is worth the €27.5m his new club paid for him.
The 24-year-old attacking midfielder was signed from Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday and after scoring 25 goals in the Ukrainian league is eager to impress at UEFA Champions League finalists Dortmund.
“I hope Borussia will not regret this transfer for one second or one cent,” he told reporters at Borussia’s pre-season training camp in Switzerland. Mkhitaryan will take over the midfield role vacated by Germany star Goetze’s move to European champions Bayern Munich.
“He’s a very good player, but a different type of player,” said Mkhitaryan, who spoke in French having spent his childhood in southeastern France. “You can’t really compare the two of us.”
Mkhitaryan has already proved he has an eye for goal, netting in Dortmund’s 3-1 friendly win at Basel on Wednesday and setting up another. Dortmund had to see off Premier League side Liverpool to sign him and while the Merseyside club has a great history, “Dortmund has a great presence,” insisted their new star.
“I have followed the Bundesliga from Ukraine and I know the level is very high,” he added.
Speaking about the talks about him in the recent weeks, Mkhitaryan did not deny that FC Liverpool was greatly interested in him, but said he chose Borussia with his heart.
