Inter Milan and former Belgium international Radja Nainggolan has criticised the “pathetic excuses” of national boss Roberto Martinez following his exclusion from his World Cup squad this summer.
Belgium had a highly successful tournament before they lost out to France in the semi-finals, going on to defeat England in the third-place play-off.
Why is Nainggolan angry with Belgium management? Five things you need to know…
- ‘Il Ninja’ has played for four teams throughout his senior career; Piacenza, Cagliari, A.S Roma and now Inter Milan.
- Nainggolan made 30 appearances for the Belgium national team from 2009-2018
- This was before his exclusion from this summer’s World Cup where, at the age of 30, he announced his retirement from national duty.
- The midfielder has now blasted Martinez’ decision to leave him out of the squad, calling his excuses ‘pathetic’.
- His form led to a high-profile transfer to Serie A rivals Inter Milan this summer, where he has a 100% tackle success rate in Italy’s top flight so far.
Asked by reporters about whether he would ever return to international duty, Nainggolan was quite firm in his response.
He told ESPN FC: “I’m not going back to the national team again. I said that if I don’t go to the World Cup, I’ll quit, and I’m a man of my word.
“I play my football here [at Inter], with lots of love for what I do, but I have a different life outside of here.
“If they change the coach tomorrow and he says: ‘Come on, come on’ – it’s still no. Because when I make up my mind, I stick to it. It’s not like I say I’m not interested while this coach is in charge – for me, when I say it’s over, it’s over because I’ve thought it through well.
“Each time there’s an international break now, I get four or five days off and I’m happy as I can concentrate on Inter and other things.
“I’m a fan of my national team-mates – I like them all and have a great relationship with all of the players, it’s just there are some things I cannot accept, some decisions made about me.”
Nainggolan added that his club form, as well as in the 2016 European Championships, should have seen him in the World Cup squad ahead of other players, before remarking about the apparent ‘pathetic’ excuses.
“I was really, really disappointed with the fact that I’d played a great European Championship and then I was discarded for nothing,” Nainggolan said. “I see things differently: in Belgium, there were players who were not playing at club level and they were getting called up.
“I was playing 50 games and was still being left out. I was never demanding that I had to play, I just deserved to be there in place of some other players.
“Then there were the excuses, but they were all pathetic. Why was I playing 50 games for Roma if I was leading the same life [I was being criticised for]? I think it’s wrong when people say things without speaking to me first. You’ve got to say things to my face, we can have a talk and then we shake hands and you don’t call me up again but I’ve got more respect for you than somebody who doesn’t do that.”
How has Nainggolan’s transfer gone so far?
The opinionated player made the move north of Italy from the country’s capital to the more fashion conscious Milan to play for the blue half of the city.
Nainggolan’s form for last season’s Champions League semi-finalists was good enough to convince Inter in parting with €38 million (€24 million plus Davide Santon and Nicolò Zaniolo, valued at €14 million).
This season, Nainggolan has played eight times in Serie A for his new side, scoring twice. His 100% tackle success rate in those games has helped the 30-year-old provide the same sturdy performances that impressed his current club in the first place.
The post Radja Nainggolan slams “pathetic excuses” of Belgium boss Roberto Martinez appeared first on Squawka News.
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