Inter full-back Dalbert reveals he got death threats from Nice fans after he pushed for his move to Italy.
The Brazilian was involved in one of the summer’s longest transfer sagas, but he eventually moved to the Nerazzurri on August 9.
“It was all very fast, now I’m living the dream I had as a child,” Dalbert explained to France Football.
“Now I’m playing in a very important club, but I’m not going to stop. I want to leave a mark on Inter’s history and play for the Brazilian national team.
Inter full-back Dalbert reveals he got death threats from Nice fans after he pushed for his move to Italy.
The Brazilian was involved in one of the summer’s longest transfer sagas, but he eventually moved to the Nerazzurri on August 9.
“It was all very fast, now I’m living the dream I had as a child,” Dalbert explained to France Football.
“Now I’m playing in a very important club, but I’m not going to stop. I want to leave a mark on Inter’s history and play for the Brazilian national team.
“When I first came to Inter I thought of my family, I wanted to secure their future. Then I thought of myself and the extraordinary experience it would be for me.
“Also my visibility for the national team, when I first came to Nice I told the directors that I wanted to play with the Seleçao, and I knew I’d have more chance of being called while playing for Inter.
“It’s a shame some didn’t understand my decision.”
The perception was that Dalbert forced his way out, and the defender says he even received death threats.
“I didn't have a choice, it was the only way I could win. Nice didn’t respect my will and they didn’t show that they were counting on me.
“The President [Jean-Pierre] Rivère is a comprehensive person, he understood my position but he wanted to defend the interests of the club. That’s totally normal.
“What disappointed me was the lack of consideration. If the directors didn’t want to sell me, they must have wanted me to stay, so at that point they should have valued me more or at the very least discussed improving my contract.
“It’s not about money, but with where I came from I have to insure my family’s future. It’s a necessity, a question of survival, but they said: ‘Dalbert is back from his holidays, he’ll train and everything will be fine’.
“They didn’t offer me anything and they didn’t want to negotiate, which pushed me to leave Nice.
“The players were on my side, in my place they’d have acted the same way. Some didn’t agree, but I had no choice it was the only way I could do it.
“Sometimes I felt guilty but it had to be done, now my conscience is clean.
“The fans? I was a traitor in their eyes, and when they whistled me against Ajax it hurt. I’d like to go back to Nice one day, but I don’t think it will be possible.
“I gave my all for that shirt, and I don’t want to see the anger in the eyes of the fans.
“Before I left I had a lot of threatening messages from them, they said they wanted to break my legs and others hoped to see me dead.
“They also sent messages to my wife through social media to threaten her. I felt their wrath and it hurt me, I hope it will pass. I have a lot of respect for the club and the real fans.”