[Didier] Drogba sent me a text message after I won the African Player of the Year award. It made me very happy.

The moment my name was called [Africa's Footballer of the Year] was truly overwhelming and I was about to scream with joy.

It was Thomas Tuchel's first season as coach and I played centrally always. The whole team had a great year, one that I enjoyed a lot. Our style has changed a bit, from trying to score within five seconds to a more calm and in some regard more educated style of play. We try to find the right moment - and then we explode.

At the same time the players around me almost make it an automatism to score goals. We have so much quality and speed on the pitch - the genius of players like Mario Gotze or Marco Reus has to lead to goals.

In football you never know, but generally speaking, I feel more than comfortable here [in Borussia Dortmund]. There' s no place on earth I'd rather be.

The mentality of coaches and players alike [in Bundesliga]. It's all about winning.

There are a lot of things to like about [Borussia Dortmund's fans] and the city of Dortmund as a whole.I like their honesty. And I like that my family and I can feel safe here. I don' t have to worry at all about my safety and their and my own safety. Believe me, in other countries I have made different experiences in that regard. All of this, too, has led to my decision to extend my contract until 2020, and I can imagine staying even longer.