Former Fiorentina and Inter striker Stevan Jovetic has admitted his regret at leaving the Nerazzurri so soon after making a return to Italian football but has confessed it was the right decision to make at the time.
Jovetic netted 35 Serie A goals for la Viola between 2008-2013 before joining Manchester City for over €26m.
Despite winning the Premier League in his first season in England, Jovetic looks back on his time in Tuscany with particular fondness.
He told Gianluca Di Marzio: “I was in a fantastic city in Florence and was playing in a very strong team in Fiorentina. We had a lot of success, playing in the Champions League every year, even reaching the last 16, and we also played in the semi-final of the Coppa Italia.”
After just 30 league appearances across two seasons and with a place in City’s longer-term plans, Jovetic returned to Italy, initially on loan at Inter.
Despite a productive first year for the Nerazzurri, his second year, after being signed permanently, was significantly less productive.
“In my first year at Inter, I did well, especially in the first part of the season. Then the second season, I don’t know what happened.”
Inter had three different coaches in charge at various spells during the 2016-17 season.
From Frank De Boer’s short-lived stint, to Stefano Pioli’s unsuccessful tenure and before Stefano Vecchi saw out the season, Jovetic failed to cement a starting spot in Inter’s line-up before eventually switching to Sevilla in LaLiga.
On reflection, Jovetic believes that things might have turned out differently had he stayed for longer at San Siro.
He recalled: “I wasn’t playing and I went on loan to Sevilla. It turned out to be an excellent choice, but when I came back to Italy, I shouldn’t have left straight away. With Spalletti, after a while, I definitely would have played.”
Still, with great admiration for his former employers, Jovetic is confident that Inter will get the result they need when they play Porto in the second leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie on Tuesday evening.
“In my opinion, Inter will go through this round,” he said. “Then it depends on who their next opponents will be. Of course, Real Madrid is always Real Madrid. The Champions League is their thing and they’re the favourites to win. They play in that cup with confidence, incredible confidence. And I think City will also go all the way.”