Madrid - Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos insisted he wasn't motivated by money after ending speculation surrounding his future by signing a new five-year deal with the club on Monday.
Ramos had been courted by Manchester United during a standoff in negotiations between his representatives and Madrid president Florentino Perez over the Spanish international's salary with his previous deal set to expire in 2017.
According to Spanish media reports, Ramos will earn up to €10 million a season.
"The circumstances of the renewal have made it drawn out but my head and heart have always been here," said Ramos.
"It is clear and I can't deny it that there were certain things I was uncomfortable with. I never said that I wanted to leave Madrid but I couldn't continue like that.
"You can see the economic part is the last thing I mention, but there were things we needed to talk about. My happiness is here, so why would I waste time somewhere else.
"If it was an economic issue I wouldn't have stayed. I could have made more money in another place, but there were other circumstances that I had to fix."
United had hoped to lure Ramos to England with the backing of a £750 million kit deal with adidas and a record new Premier League television rights deal to start in 2016.
The two clubs have been locked in transfer talks all summer with Real still hopeful of landing Ramos's international teammate David de Gea before the transfer window closes at the end of the month.
Ramos is now Madrid's longest serving player having signed from Sevilla 10 years ago as a 19-year-old and will be club captain for the first time this season after Iker Casillas's 18-year career at the Bernabeu came to an end when he joined Porto last month.