Patro Eisden’s, a lower league club in Belgium, Radja Nainggolan has talked about his decision to snub Chelsea while at AS Roma, and how it wasn’t appreciated.
The Belgian initially joined the Serie A side from Cagliari on loan in January 2014 and made his stay permanent later that year.
He made 203 appearances for the Giallorossi, managing 33 goals and 28 assists, and left them for Inter Milan in 2018. During his time in the Italian capital, Chelsea and other clubs tried to sign him.
Roma didn’t reward him for rejecting Chelsea
The midfielder has been speaking to Radio Bruno to discuss his time in Italy and Tutto Juve have relayed his comments. During the interview, he discusses why it wasn’t wise on his part to turn down Chelsea and another club.
Radja Nainggolan mentioned the Blues offer while accusing AS Roma of treating him unfairly.
“I’ve only played in a few clubs. My career started slowly in Serie B, then I owe a lot to Cagliari, and my first chance to play in Serie A was Roma, a club I never would have left,” he said.
“My personality is what it is. I hate lies and fake people, and when something goes against my values, I leave. I turned down offers from Chelsea and China to stay.”
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When the Chelsea approach happened
Radja Nainggolan hasn’t explained when the Premier League side tabled an offer. It’s not the first time he has publicly talked about turning down Chelsea to continue at AS Roma.
The player has previously discussed his refusal to accept a move to Stamford Bridge. Their approach came when Antonio Conte was in charge at the west London club between 2016 and 2018.
In November 2021, the Belgian said he didn’t accept Chelsea because they only offered to increase his salary by €750k.
At that time, he said: “Antonio Conte was coach of the Blues at the time and wanted to bring me to England. However, they were shocked when they heard what I was earning in Rome.
“They ended up offering €750,000 more, but I didn’t want to move to England for that amount. That’s why that transfer eventually fell through.”
He later joined Inter Milan and move didn’t work out. During his time at the San Siro, he had loan spells at Cagliari and left them permanently for Royal Antwerp in 2021.
This was followed by spells at SPAL, Indonesian side Bhayangkara, Lokeren and Patro Eisden. He joined the latter in the summer.
