Radja Nainggolan reflected on his departure from Roma and ruled out a possible return to the Italian capital.
The 34-year-old Belgian forward was recently linked with a possible return to the Giallorossi this month following the injury to Georginio Wijnaldum. Nainggolan is currently back in Belgium with Royal Antwerp, where he’s contracted for another year.
Speaking to New Sound Level, Nainggolan looked back at his departure from Roma and confirmed that he wouldn’t be returning to the club.
“This city loves me as much as I love it. Because I always get excited. I made a mistake. Never change for anybody. When you don’t get along with a person, never pass as fake, and unfortunately I made a decision that maybe I still regret to this day.
“But I’m happy for the achievements Roma has made because I still love her. Now there’s these rumours because a newly acquired player got hurt and maybe some fans saw a possible replacement in me, the rumour went around very quickly, however it was never a big possibility.
“I know the fans would love for me to come back and so would I. When they tell me ‘come on, come on,’ some read this news and think it’s serious, but in the end it’s just bar talk.”
Nainggolan spent four years of his career in the Italian capital with Roma, joining from Cagliari in July 2014 in a deal worth around €15m. He went on to make 203 appearances across all competitions for the club, scoring 33 goals and providing 28 assists.
In July 2018, the Belgian midfielder was sold to Inter for €24m plus Davide Santon and Nicolo Zaniolo. He found less success in the Lombardy capital and only made 41 appearances for the club before returning to Cagliari on loan in August 2019.