Radja Nainggolan was ‘sadder to have left Roma than he was happy to join Inter’ and admits he would return ‘if the conditions are right’.
Nainggolan was sold to Inter in the summer of 2018, despite being a fans’ favourite at Roma and having helped the Giallorossi reach the Champions League semi-finals just months earlier.
Radja Nainggolan was ‘sadder to have left Roma than he was happy to join Inter’ and admits he would return ‘if the conditions are right’.
Nainggolan was sold to Inter in the summer of 2018, despite being a fans’ favourite at Roma and having helped the Giallorossi reach the Champions League semi-finals just months earlier.
“I don’t want to take anything away from Inter fans, but if you asked me if I was happier to have joined Inter or sadder to have left Roma, I’ll tell you that I was sadder to have left,” he said during an Instagram Live broadcast.
“As for whether I’d return to Roma, yes I would. If the conditions are right, I’d go back.
“I experienced beautiful years with them. It’s a club that loves me, that I love and to which I’ve given everything.
“I miss everything about Roma. I recently watched back the game against Barcelona and, when I heard the [club’s] anthem, I wrote a lot of things to the group. It was still giving me chills.
“Things were so natural for me at Roma that I miss it all. These things all happened with them, so we’ll see. The door is always open.”
He went on to stress the need for the right conditions.
“I left Roma out of respect for myself. A mess happened, where someone went behind my back, and I wouldn’t even say ‘goodbye’ to such a person.
“And since they wanted me to leave, I wanted to have the decision of where to go.”
The 31-year-old, who is currently on loan at Cagliari, then revealed what it was like to go back to the Olimpico.
“I had my first game at the Olimpico with Cagliari. I think when a person walks away from a team, the important thing is to have done something good with them.
“The affection I received at Roma, I think, was in part for what I gave on the pitch. I’m proud of it because it’s not easy to receive so much affection from such a big club.”