Nuri Sahin does not consider his stint with Real Madrid as a waste of time despite seeing a fast-rising career stall during an injury-plagued year at the Bernabeu.

Sahin penned a six-year contract with Madrid in 2011 after catching the eye during Borussia Dortmund’s Bundesliga title-winning campaign the previous season, but the Turkey international experienced a frustrating time in Spain.

Struck down by injuries, he played only a handful of times for Jose Mourinho’s side before joining Liverpool on a season-long loan last summer.

The 24-year-old, who returned to Dortmund on loan in January after making only 12 appearances at Anfield, does not regret making the move to Madrid, though.

He said: “Of course I had different expectations when I went there. But I was injured and the team were really playing very well.

“Now, when I see how my game is improving, I think I took the right decision to go. I learned a lot. I was able to train day in day out with the best players in the world. This helped me a lot to improve my game.”

Dortmund will come face-to-face with Real later this month when they clash in the Champions League semi-finals. Sahin knows what the Champions League means to Real and believes that increases the pressure on Mourinho’s men.

He said: “Real have spent 10 years talking about and hoping to win a 10th European Cup.

“In every game they play at the Bernabeu the fans end up singing about the ‘10th’.

“It shows how important it is to them. But this also puts Real under a lot of pressure. Borussia don’t have this pressure.”