Marco Verratti admits he questioned Paris Saint-Germain's ambition amid speculation linking him with a move to Barcelona during the close-season.
The Italy international replaced his agent Donato Di Campli in July after he described the player as a "prisoner" in Paris with talk of an exit gaining traction.
Verratti won four successive Ligue 1 titles following his arrival from Pescara in 2012, but after Unai Emery's side were beaten to top spot by Monaco in 2016-17 he confesses he considered his future.
"The truth is that last season we went through some complicated times," he told L'Equipe. "We did not really live up to a team that wanted to win everything.
"We were asked to win everything and there were a lot of stronger teams than us. I was not sure we were a team with very big ambitions.
"Honestly, this year - for the first time in five years - I wondered if I should continue here. But I was reassured about the project and the ambitions."
The signings of Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, as well as the retention of long-standing squad members Marquinhos and Adrien Rabiot, reassured Verratti of the club's ambition.
"People think I play for PSG for the money, but I could find it elsewhere too," he said.
"If I had left this summer, to one of the clubs that were ready to pay €100million to recruit me, I would have got much more money.
"If one day PSG call me and say, 'Marco, you have to leave,' then I leave. We cannot always decide.
"The choice I made is to continue here. Because there is a project and young players who are future champions: Marquinhos, Mbappe, Neymar, Rabiot."
PSG are six points clear at the top of Ligue 1 after nine games and are unbeaten in all competitions this season.
