Former Inter midfielder Emre Belozoglu has revealed that then-President of the club Massimo Moratti had tried to dissuade him from leaving in 2005, but that he decided to anyway.
Speaking to Turkish broadcaster NTV Spor, the former Nerazzurri, Fenerbahce, and Newcastle United midfielder and current Istanbul Baseksahir coach also admitted that leaving Inter was his biggest career regret.
Belozoglu left Inter to join Newcastle during the summer of 2005, with injury problems having meant that his role at the Nerazzurri had become limited, and he decided to seek a new challenge to revive his career.
As the 41-year-old explained to NTV Spor, however, Moratti had actually tried to convince him otherwise, with the then-President telling Belozoglu that even though he had been dealing with injuries that meant he was out of favour in his final season, he was still a big fan and continued to back him in the team.
“Inter president Massimo Moratti was a big fan of me,” Belozoglu explained, “he wanted me to stay. He said I could recover from my injuries, but I wanted to leave. This is my biggest regret. I had a groin problem and it took me a year and a half to beyond it.”
