Carlos Bacca says it's a great feeling to go from being on the open market to one of Milan's untouchables.
The Colombian could have been sold for €30m, but his hat-trick on the opening week of Serie A made the Rossoneri directors change their minds.
Among the teams that came closest to picking him up was West Ham from the Premier League.
“I consider West Ham a first-rate club,” Bacca told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “But I turned down their offer, not least because I have to think about my family.
Carlos Bacca says it's a great feeling to go from being on the open market to one of Milan's untouchables.
The Colombian could have been sold for €30m, but his hat-trick on the opening week of Serie A made the Rossoneri directors change their minds.
Among the teams that came closest to picking him up was West Ham from the Premier League.
“I consider West Ham a first-rate club,” Bacca told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “But I turned down their offer, not least because I have to think about my family.
“I spoke about it with [Adriano] Galliani, it seemed fair to warn him because I consider myself a clear and transparent person and my intention is to stay where I am.
“He told me that the club agreed that I could stay. I'll be sincere, I love hearing the club tell me that I'm important to them. So I can tell the fans: don't worry, the market is closed for me.”
The 29-year-old was then asked whether such a sudden turn, from being one of the club's money-pots on the market to a first-team starter, didn't feel odd to him.
“A little bit, yes. But now everything is very clearly set down. Earlier I was on the market, I know that the club had some problems and that I was one of a restricted number of players that could guarantee a certain cash inflow.
“Milan could have resolved several situations with the money from my sale, so I'd have been understanding if that were how things went.
“Now, the feeling of being an untouchable is very good. It means that there's faith in me, that I went well. I'm a person before being a footballer. If I'm important for Milan, it means I must stay.
“My family persuaded me to remain. I had offers from Italy [Napoli] and France, but they were situations in which I didn't see myself at 100 per cent.
“Who commands between me and my wife? She does! No, seriously it's more like 50-50, or 51 per cent her. I listened to my wife before choosing to remain in Milan.”