Inter owned midfielder Joao Mario, who is currently on loan with Russian side Lokomotiv Moscow, discussed his time with the Nerazzurri and his season in Russia in an interview with International broadcaster Eleven Sports yesterday.
“When things do not go well, this fact marks you and you learn from that experience. Milan has been very important in my career, to make me learn and grow. Things would have been different if I had the mentality I have today, I had to live this experience to grow. I can’t say that I would have done something different because I only lived what happened in Milan.”
The 27-year-old Portuguese midfielder then touched on the competitiveness of the Russian league.
“There are 4 or 5 teams of very high level, but also the matches against the low-ranking teams. I have fun here, but I don’t hide the fact that I would like to try a different league, like the Spanish or French one.”
Mario has made 15 appearances across all competitions so far this season for Lokomotiv Moscow, for a total of 1287 minutes. In that time, he has scored one goal and provided four assists, seemingly impressing the Russian side enough for them to look to sign him permanently, albeit with a discount.
The player has made 69 appearances for the Nerazzurri since his arrival in 2016. In that time, he scored four goals and provided 13 assists, but is now set to be sold by Inter, even if Lokomotiv Moscow choose not to make his move permanent.
