Nicolò Barella said an emotional goodbye to hometown club Cagliari after his transfer to Inter. “I tried to honour the shirt with all my strength, and I think that I achieved that.”
The move was completed for a total of €40m plus €10m in various bonuses and add-ons, although technically it is a loan with obligation to buy, allowing them to spread the payments out.
Nicolò Barella said an emotional goodbye to hometown club Cagliari after his transfer to Inter. “I tried to honour the shirt with all my strength, and I think that I achieved that.”
The move was completed for a total of €40m plus €10m in various bonuses and add-ons, although technically it is a loan with obligation to buy, allowing them to spread the payments out.
“Dear Rossoblu fans, dear club, dear President, dear teammates,” wrote Barella in an open letter.
“I am experiencing a strange sensation. My career as a professional football player is taking me away from my land, my city, my family and my closest friends.
“It is taking me across the sea, far from home. My home: Cagliari. I could say that this club has been my home since I first started playing in the youth academy, but perhaps it has always been my home.
“I am a fortunate lad: I had the chance to defend on the pitch the colours of the club I’ve cheered on since I was a child. I made my dream come true, a dream that started when my father took me to his games and I’d sit on the touchline with a Cagliari jersey, kicking a ball that was bigger than me.
“Growing up, I was a regular in the stadium, suffering for our colours. From the stands, I admired champions like Andrea Cossu, Marco Sau and Daniele Conti. At a certain point, I found myself training with and sharing a dressing room with them: I can’t tell you the emotion I felt the first time I walked into the first team dressing room at the Asseminello ground.
“I tried to learn something from all of them, both football-related and not. They taught me well: they passed on the sense of sacrifice, the value of suffering and participation. I already had that sense of belonging and love for the jersey within me.
“I tried to work my socks off to help the team achieve their objectives. I gave everything on the pitch, every time, from the first to the last minute, in every game.
“I gave and received a fair few knocks, I discussed with referees and argued with opponents. I celebrated, shouted, cried. Playing for Cagliari is all at once a pleasure, an honour, a responsibility: something that makes victories sweeter and doubles the weight on your heart in defeat.
“Aside from the personal satisfactions, I always put the team first. It was the only thing that mattered. It is Cagliari. It is the shirt: I tried to honour it with all my strength, and I think that I achieved that.
“Now a new chapter in my career begins, I am ready to fight and give my all for these new colours and new fans. I will always keep my land and its people in my heart with great affection.”