Villarreal talent Nicola Sansone admits he turned down Germany because “I feel Italian” and had an odd meeting with Cristiano Ronaldo.
The former Sassuolo winger was born and raised in Germany, coming up through the Bayern Munich system.
“It was an immense honour to wear the Bayern Munich shirt at the age of 11,” he told the Corriere dello Sport.
Villarreal talent Nicola Sansone admits he turned down Germany because “I feel Italian” and had an odd meeting with Cristiano Ronaldo.
The former Sassuolo winger was born and raised in Germany, coming up through the Bayern Munich system.
“It was an immense honour to wear the Bayern Munich shirt at the age of 11,” he told the Corriere dello Sport.
“As a kid I played in Munich with Bruno Soriano, we never lost contact and now we’re together at Villarreal. We’re great friends. The player in Munich who impressed me the most was Franck Ribery, as seeing him work up close was amazing.
“Jurgen Klinsmann brought me into the first team and I will always thank him for that. Louis van Gaal always wanted to be right and for everyone to just follow his orders. He’s a great Coach, but as a person not so much.”
Sansone did come to Italy for Sassuolo and became a Serie A sensation.
“I continue to track the Neroverdi and Eusebio Di Francesco taught me so much both on the field and off. He wanted me to remain at Sassuolo, but when I told him the deal with Villarreal was done, he wished me the best. I still keep in contact with my old Sassuolo teammates, as we have a Whatsapp group.
“The idea of playing in Spain was always intriguing and on the day of negotiations Soriano told me to come. So far it seems as if it was a good decision.
“My first few games were difficult, because in Spain it’s a less tactical style of football and more intense, but at least there’s less pressure and controversy.
“One of the reasons I decided to come to Spain was to play against my idol Cristiano Ronaldo. When I shook his hand, I was smiling like a child. I asked for his jersey, but he was angry that we held Real Madrid to a draw. Still, he promised me he would exchange shirts next time.”
Sansone recently made his senior Italy debut and is targeting Russia in 2018.
“Now my dream is to play at the World Cup. When an Italian plays abroad, he always has more responsibility to hold the flag aloft.
“Germany did propose calling me up for Under-15 and Under-16 level, but I always turned them down because I feel Italian.”