Christian Eriksen confirms he’ll be cheering on his old club Inter against Milan in the Champions League, ‘even if I’d be sad for Simon Kjaer,’ and would’ve gladly stayed with the Nerazzurri if Italian rules had allowed his ICD.
The midfielder was receiving the trophy for best comeback at the Laureus World Sports Awards this evening, a prize for his return to the field after suffering cardiac arrest during Denmark’s EURO 2020 group game against Finland in June 2021.
He was revived on the field, in part thanks to teammate Kjaer’s quick response to provide initial CPR, and then given an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) that would restart his heart if another arrest were to occur.
The Italian rules ban someone with this type of implant from participating in any sporting activity, so he had to terminate his contract with Inter and move to England for first Brentford, then Manchester United.
“I am not angry with Inter at all, leaving was simply the only option because the rules in Italy are different to England and I could not continue my profession there,” Eriksen told reporters.
“I wanted to get back to playing football and I did what I could to make that happen.”
He was at Inter from January 2020 to December 2021, making 60 competitive appearances for the club, scoring eight goals and providing three assists, winning the Serie A title under Antonio Conte in 2020-21.
“I had some great moments at Inter and have good memories of the club. I hope that my ex-teammates can beat Milan in the semi-final and reach the Champions League Final, even if my friend Kjaer plays for Milan. I’d be sad for him, but I still hope Inter go through.”
Kjaer not only provided initial CPR that day, but also got his teammates to stand around the medical staff to shield him from the cameras and then comforted Eriksen’s wife who had made her way down to the pitch. The first leg of the Champions League semi-final is at San Siro on Wednesday evening, as one of the two Milanese representatives will be in the Final in Istanbul against either Real Madrid or Manchester City.