«Yes, I also had 20 drinks but the next day I was on the pitch»- Corriere.it

Thirty-four years old, four daughters and… a life, off the field, which was (and is) over the top. Radja Nainggolan
he knows that everything and even more has been said about him. He knows that when he wanted he dribbled past the strongest opponents but also the rules that a professional athlete is required to respect. Radja is allergic to the commandments: don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t party. When he is discovered with his hands in his jam, however, he puts his face in it.

Is Nainggolan like this? Take or leave?

«I am a footballer and before that a man who has chosen to be happy. I have in my head and soul the sufferings I experienced as a boy. We were poor, my mother did cleaning and a thousand extra jobs to support us. My father left us when I was very young. I sacrificed myself to become a footballer, earn money and let my loved ones live well who, like me and with me, have suffered».

He has a twin sister.

«He is the most important person in my life, together we have suffered and rejoiced. And we’ve been through a lot.”

Did she confide in her that she was a lesbian?

“Yes, she was scared. I reassured her: she had to be happy and not think about the judgment of others. Don’t worry, I told her. Enjoy your emotions to the fullest”.

Which is kind of his lifestyle. After a «brava night» how does he go on the field and perform at his best?

«Nature has given me a gift: I have a physique that has never been affected by the bullshit I’ve done. Of course at 20 you go out every night, now maybe I do two or three evenings, if I like. But I’m not giving up on living. I can also drink a little in the evening, the important thing is then to go on the pitch at three thousand. It is said that I created problems in the changing rooms, but from Piacenza to Cagliari, Roma and Inter I had good relations with everyone. There are comrades that I still feel today ».

Walter Sabatini jokingly called her a criminal: he says he was able to drink eight “shots” all together.

“I called him and told him that eight is not enough. I also drink twenty. And then I go on the pitch anyway. He loves me, he has always advised me to have a more peaceful life. He thinks I would have had a better career. But I don’t agree, I gave my best on the pitch».

In Rome he did some stunts.

“Everywhere I screwed up. I arrived late in Rome, there were videos in which I was dull in the evening and then that famous New Year’s Eve at my house… I will remember it for the rest of my life. Perhaps that was the craziest night.’

What happened?

«Well, my videos drunk, smoking and saying words out of place went around the world. I was attacked by everyone, Roma went on a rampage. And they were right.”

He also returned to Cagliari due to his wife’s cancer.

“Yes, I had to stay close to my daughters. It was right to go back to that moment and I didn’t back down».

Do you hear Totti?

«We love each other with Francesco, we were happy together».

Did you expect your marriage with Ilary to end?

“It happened to them as to many others. Life is not programmable».

Icardi? Together you shared the exclusion from Inter.

“Different situations. Conte was clear to me, he told me I wasn’t part of the project. I appreciated his sincerity even if it didn’t please me.’

Tifa Inter or Rome?

«My heart says Rome».

Spalletti?

«In Rome I was very good, I didn’t play much at Inter but I still scored 6 goals in 29 games. He always said things to my face. I’ve heard it lately, we’ve been making fun of each other».

Mourinho?

«An instinctive, like me. I like. His reactions always have a reason »

He said: never at Juventus.
“Real. They may have been the strongest, but I have experience in the field against them where they won, and not just for skill. They were facilitated. Against Roma, in 2014, we lost 3-2, with two penalties outside the box».

Now Spal in Serie B.

«I came for Daniele De Rossi and after two days they sent him away. If it hadn’t been for him, I wouldn’t even have thought about it. He had strong disagreements with the club, he said so after all. I thought about it and in the end I stayed, despite everything. I have to help them save themselves.”

He arrived in Ferrara after being kicked out of Antwerp in Belgium.

«I was happy to be back in the city where there are two of my daughters and where I grew up. When I arrived at Antwerp they said I was a great player, in the end they treated me like a piece of m…, a parasite. I don’t forgive them.”

But he had smoked on the bench, he was driving with an expired license.

«Yes, I was wrong, is it possible once in a while? It happens to humans. It’s not like that for a month we always have to talk about my mistake. They prevented me from entering the front door, they moved my things to the locker room. They told me: show that you have changed and I have behaved well. They didn’t keep their word.”

After football?

“Football again”.

Are you feeling happy?

“I will continue to make mistakes to be happy”.