Luis Suarez claims he decided to stay at Liverpool 'some weeks ago' and gave no thought to a late summer switch.
The Uruguay international announced at the start of the transfer window that he wanted out of Anfield, and found himself left in footballing limbo as debate regarding his future raged.
Liverpool, however, refused to waver in their stance that the striker was not for sale - snubbing big-money bids from Premier League rivals Arsenal and keeping reports of interest from Real Madrid at arm's length.
Suarez says he is now happy to remain on Merseyside and is hoping to repay the faith shown in him by the Reds and their loyal supporters.
After arriving in South America for international duty, Suarez is quoted in the Daily Mirror as saying: "For me, it has been closed for some time. I made the decision to stay at Liverpool some weeks ago and I want to stay and work for the team from now on.
"I will go back to Liverpool to play and I hope to be the same player the fans can trust.
"I said I wanted to play in the Champions League, but when that didn't happen I knew I'd be happy with life to have my future at Liverpool."
Reports on Monday suggested that Real made a dramatic bid to land Suarez before the transfer deadline passed, but the 26-year-old says he paid little attention to the rumours.
He added: "It is closed now and I am comfortable with the decision.
"I said if there was something good I would be interested. If not, then I am happy at Liverpool. I can say now I am happy.
"Of course I am not playing. I just want to concentrate on getting ready to play for Liverpool again. It is good I will be able to play in Uruguay.
"We have four matches coming up that will decide if we go to the World Cup and I want to be important in those games."
