Radja Nainggolan, Inter’s midfielder who joined last summer from Roma recently admitted to ESPN FC that he was not intending to play for the Belgium National team again.
“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,” Nainggolan said. “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.
“I was really, really disappointed with the fact that I’d played a great European Championship and then I was discarded for nothing,” admitted Radja Nainggolan.
“I see things differently: in Belgium, there were players who were not playing at club level and they were getting called up.”
Nainggolan explains his decision by the “pathetic” behavior and excuses given to him after his non-selection:
“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 criticized 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.”
Feeling disrespected by this decision and the lack of clarity and reasons behind the fact of being selected only three times since the take over of Roberto Martinez but mainly by his non-selection for the 2018 Russia World Cup, Radja has decided to put an end to his international career.
Nainggolan concluded his interview by saying that his decision of break from international football has allowed him to focus more on Inter and his personal life.
Source: ESPN
