Former Inter player Andy Van der Meyde has spoke in length about his career with the club in an interview with FCInterNews.it.

“Inter are a great club. I had a great time in Milan. We had a great team but there were many people intruded and spoke instead of the boss! Like the director Marco Branca. They had to leave the coach alone, let him do his job and not try to decide for him,” he began.

“Could we have done better in my time with the club? Of course,” he said. “I wanted to stay but they told me that I should do go. Branca told me he would sell me and that’s why I left Milan.

“The team was good but the main problem was that the full potential was never exploited.

“It was a difficult situation. As I told you, Branca always interfered in decisions. He never let Mancini freely decide things and because of this the manager could not make decisions in total autonomy.”

He then revealed that he was told he would play more than he ultimately did.

“When I signed for Inter Hector Cuper was in charge. Subsequently Zaccheroni arrived and after it was Mancini. The team was made up of about forty members.

“Mancini told me that he was counting on me and that I would play a lot but it was not like that and I was disappointed.

“I wanted to play in the World Cup with the Netherlands. I had to take the field more often, otherwise I would not have been summoned.

“I talked about it with Branca, specifying how my desire was still to stay, because I really liked the team and the fans but he replied saying that it would be better for me to leave.”

He then shared his opinion on the recent Mauro Icardi saga.

“It is shame about the whole mess of the Icardi situation. For me he is a great striker. Lethal in the penalty area, he always scores but how many problems have been created? When he didn’t want to play because of the injury, he created problems for himself, but also for the team, the coach and the fans. We must not forget he was the captain too.”

He was then asked on the competition for a starting place between Icardi and Lautaro Martinez.

“It is always positive when two strong players compete for a place in the team. I also like Martinez but if I had to choose one player I would always say Icardi. I repeat: he is lethal in the penalty area. The coach has to make his decisions, but I’m a big Mauro fan.”

He then returned to his Inter career and shared his regrets.

“At the time I was very young when I signed for Inter. I was just a kid who should have grown up. I made stupid mistakes. The biggest one was signing for Everton. I should have listened to Materazzi, who had advised me to stay but at the time I didn’t want to listen to anyone.

“If I could go back and do it all over again, I’d do it. I would have had a better career and I wouldn’t have retired when I was only 30 years old. Fortunately, I am married now, I have children. I live a happy life, without problems.”

He then spoke on his relationship with Inter’s fans.

“I had no problems in Milan, unlike at Everton. When I played I had long hair and a different look than the current one. One time I returned to San Siro and I had a hat on my head and I was sitting near the sector of the Curva Nord. People hadn’t recognised me but the Curva did and they called for me to join them. I sang songs and I must say that it was very nice and exciting to see the match from there.”

He concluded by speaking on recently missing out on Inter Forever’s match.

“It is too bad I got injured just before Inter Forever against Tottenham Legends but I promise to be there at the next match. I will not fail for sure. I still want to wear the Nerazzurri jacket.”