Ghana midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng has revealed that he would have played for the German national team if he had stayed longer with Hertha Berlin in the early stages of his career.
The 34-year-old left Hertha Berlin at the age of 20 to join Tottenham Hotspur for 7.9 million euros.
The former AC Milan midfielder joined his boyhood club this summer as a free agent from Italian Serie B side AC Monza.
Boateng disclosed he regrets leaving his boyhood club in the early stages of his career to join the English Premier League side.
"I should have stayed here for another two or three years, then maybe I would have become a German national player."
Boateng sees the other mistake in his career in the decision to have signed with Bundesliga side FC Schalke 04.
According to him, he turned down the opportunity to sign for Manchester United at a point in his career.
"I had the opportunity to move to Manchester United. I chose Germany - you saw what happened to me at Schalke," explained Boateng.
In two years he made only 18 appearances at Schalke and was also sharply criticized by the media. For a long time he was said to be unable to go out of himself.
"At some point I became intelligent. It started with Milan. I played with world stars and learned something from everyone," said the now 34-year-old about his development, which from 2015 onwards was shaped by many club changes.