Ex Fiorentina Midfielder Admits: ‘I Didn’t Want To Join Inter Milan’ In 2017 | OneFootball

Former midfielder Borja Valero admits that he didn’t initially want to join Inter Milan from Fiorentina in the summer of 2017.

Speaking to OCW Sport, via FCInterNews, the Spaniard noted that coach Luciano Spalletti was key in bringing him to the Nerazzurri.

Midfielder Valero joined Inter from Fiorentina in the summer if 2017.

By the time that the Spaniard joined the Nerazzurri, he had already established a strong reputation for himself in Serie A with La Viola.

Prior to that, he’d featured for the likes of Mallorca, West Bromwich Albion, and Villarreal.

But it was in Florence that Valero really showed the best form of his career.

In Tuscany, the Spaniard formed a strong connection with the fans. He became a real leader in the Fiorentina squad, and was a key man in midield.

However, in 2017 Valero was one of a number of players to leave the Stadio Artemio Franchi. Josip Ilicic went to Atalanta, Federico Bernardeschi to Fiorentina, and Matias Vecino followed Valero to Inter.

Borja Valero: “I Didn’t Want To Join Inter From Fiorentina”

“When I was presented to Inter, I said that I didn’t want to join,” Valero admitted.

“I wanted to stay at Fiorentina. But they thought I was a burden there.”

“Fiorentina didn’t expect there’d be an offer from such a big team,” Valero noted.

“But then Spalletti came in and said, I want Borja.”

“Then after two years under Spalletti, when we returned to the Champions League for good, Conte came in,” Valero continued. “It was very different.”

Valero called Conte “very demanding on a physical level in training.”

“As soon as he arrived, he told me that I wasn’t part of his plans,” the Spaniard noted.

“But I told him that I had no intention of living.”

“I was convinced that I could still help the team,” Valero looked back. “And I stayed out of the team exercises.”

“I was the 23rd player in the squad. Sometimes, at 35 or 36 years of age, I trained alone.”

“But I had faith in myself,” Valero declared.

The Spaniard said of Conte that “He didn’t care about your name, your wages, how much you’ve won in the past.”

“For him, it’s the present moment that matters. If he sees that you’re doing better than someone else, he’ll let you play.”

Valero noted that in his one season at Inter under Conte, “we came close to winning trophies.”

“We were second in the league. And we reached the Europa League final.”

“We had a bad match in the Coppa Italia,” Valero added. “Otherwise we would have been in the final there as well.”