Midfielder Radja Nainggolan explained why he would never have joined Juventus and how Antonio Conte cut him from the Inter team: ‘I appreciated his sincerity.’ The former Belgian international made the move back to Italy in the January transfer window to join Daniele De Rossi’s SPAL. Speaking with Corriere della Sera (As quoted by Il Corriere dello Sport), the 34-year-old looked back at his career in Serie A and touched on his time at Roma and Inter, and why becoming a footballer was so important to him:
“I am a footballer and before that, a man who has chosen to be happy. I have in my head and soul the suffering I experienced as a boy. We were poor, my mother did cleaning and a thousand extra jobs to support us. My father left us when I was very young. I sacrificed myself to become a footballer, earn money and make a good living for my loved ones who, like me and with me, suffered.
“Its said that I created problems in the locker room, but at Piacenza, Cagliari, Roma and Inter I had good relations with everyone. There are teammates I still hear from today.
“Spalletti? At Roma I played very well, at Inter I played little but still scored six goals in 29 games. He always said things to my face. I’ve heard from him lately.
“Mourinho? An instinctive one, like me. I like him. His reactions always have a reason.
“I said I never wanted to join Juventus? Thats true. They may have been the strongest, but I have experience on the pitch against them where they won, and not just because of skill. They were ‘facilitated’. With Roma, in 2014, we lost 3-2, with two penalties outside the box.”
Former Roma sporting director Walter Sabatini recently said of Nainggolan, ‘He’s someone who if you put 7-8 shots in front of him he drinks them all!’
“Sabatini? I called him, I told him that eight shots are not enough… I drink twenty. And then I’d go on the pitch anyway! Sabatini loves me, he’s convinced I could have done more, but I feel I’ve given my all.
“The craziest night I ever had was in Rome, on New Year’s Eve. My drunken videos went round the world: the club went into a rage: they were right. I love Totti, we were happy together. The end of his marriage is something that happens to many other people: life is not programmable.”
“Inter? Conte was clear with me when I was there, he told me I wasn’t part of the project, I appreciated his sincerity.”
