Former Roma and Inter midfielder Radja Nainggolan insists he could still play for either club and claims he would never have left the Giallorossi had it not been for Monchi: ‘He played a double game and also wanted to sell Edin Dzeko to Chelsea.’
Roma and Inter meet at the Stadio Olimpico at 18:00 CET today in the big match of Serie A Round 5.
The Giallorossi and the Nerazzurri are the only two Serie A sides with 12 points in the opening four matches.
Inter have the league’s best attack with 13 goals scored, while the Giallorossi have the least-beaten defence, conceding only one goal.
Nainggolan: ‘I could still play Roma vs. Inter’
“I have the feeling of someone who would still love to play a match like that. And perhaps I still could,” Nainggolan told Gazzetta.
“Honestly, I think so. I believe I’d find a place, either as an attacking midfielder or a box-to-box midfielder.”
Nainggolan is currently under contract with Belgium’s second division side Patro Eisden and has scored two goals in five league games this season.
“I mean that football is becoming easier, both in terms of rules and overall level,” he said.
“I’m still fit, and I’d love to be out there. I was at the Olimpico for Roma-Fiorentina, and I tell you, I really felt the urge to pull on my boots again.”
Nainggolan went on to preview today’s match.
“A great, tough game between two teams who love attacking football,” he said.
“Inter remain stronger; they have no rivals in Italy in terms of squad depth. However, Roma have found stability and identity under Gasperini. I hope they don’t succumb to the pressure on what will be a complicated evening, where anything is possible. Dybala could be the difference-maker.”
The former Belgium international will “naturally” support the Giallorossi: “I left my heart in Rome, with all due respect to Inter. Rome is where I was able to express myself fully. I would never have left.”
So why did he leave the Olimpico to join Inter in the summer of 2018?
“It was Monchi’s decision, the sporting director, who played a double game. He would ask me for advice on transfer market dealings while simultaneously negotiating to sell me.
“On one hand, I understood the logic; he wanted to dismantle the squad Walter Sabatini had built to create one of his own. He used the same approach with Dzeko, whom he tried to sell to Chelsea.
“But at that time, we had just come from the Champions League semi-final against Liverpool; we were a great team, and we felt we could grow further.”
Nainggolan reunited with Luciano Spalletti at Inter.
“I have to thank him, because with him I wrote the most exciting chapters of my career,” the midfielder said.
“It’s a shame that after the first year, things didn’t work out for me.”
Spalletti left the Nerazzurri after Nainggolan’s first season and was replaced by Antonio Conte.
“I paid the price for Spalletti’s departure. Conte told me immediately that I wasn’t part of his plans. Unlike Monchi, Antonio was direct with me, and I respected his assessment,” Nainggolan said.
Conte, however, wanted to sign Nainggolan at Chelsea just a few years earlier, so why didn’t he want him at Inter?
“Who knows. Perhaps he was still enraged by that snub, but it wasn’t the only one,” concluded Nainggolan.
“To stay at Roma, I also turned down a big offer from China.”
