Barcelona B striker Rey Manaj has admitted that he was not humble enough to make the most of an opportunity when he was signed by Inter earlier in his career.
The Albania international joined the Nerazzurri in 2015 after catching the eye at Cremonese but only made six senior appearances for the club before being sold to Albacete in 2019, and then moving on to Barcelona B in January of last year.
In an interview published in today’s newspaper edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport, Manaj reflected on why his time at Inter was not a success and conceded that he did not have the right attitude.
“My maturity is thanks to my family. When I was at Inter, my parents told me to be humble but I didn’t understand why it was important. They told me not to do things but I was wrong,” the 24-year-old admitted.
“[Former Inter coach and assistant] Gigi Simoni loved me, I stayed in touch with him until the end and now I think of his wife and his son Leonardo. He was a special person.”
Despite being away from Inter since 2016, after loan spells at Pescara, Pisa, and Granada prior to his move to Albacete, Manaj revealed that he continued to follow the club and knew wing-back Ivan Perisic through Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic.
“I have heard about Perisic quite often, even when I was training in the first team at Barcelona and he was going to the national team with Rakitic. Ivan deserves it, he is a great player.
“I have always been an Inter supporter, I rejoiced for the Scudetto. I arrived in Italy in 2001 and my whole family have always been Inter fans. I grew up in Codogno supporting the Nerazzurri.”
Finally, the striker revealed that he could be set for a return to Italian football after receiving proposals, but had not decided his future.
“I have offers in La Liga and from Italy, even if I don’t want to say from who. I am torn but yes, I could come back,” he concluded.
