Sneijder: I left Real, but I won everything with Inter

Wesley Sneijder, the former Dutch midfielder, gave a long and candid conversation in an interview with Betsson.sport, revisiting the most iconic moments of his extraordinary football career and revealing previously untold moments from his past.

One of the central themes of the interview was the transfer from Real Madrid to Inter, a true “sliding door” for the Dutchman. Sneijder openly admitted that some unpleasant things had happened in his personal life in Spain, but that the move was decisive: “After two years at Real Madrid, I went to Inter and I won everything here. Things happen because they have to happen.”

The memory of José Mourinho, whom Wesley considers a decisive figure, was indelible. Recalling the Champions League final in Madrid, Sneijder praised the Portuguese coach’s mentality, proudly repeating that in that match the team had not “parked the bus”, demonstrating the courage of that historic group.

The interview also touched on the art of free kicks, a true speciality of his. The credit for that, Sneijder revealed, goes to Ronald Koeman, who during his time at Ajax kept him on the pitch every day after training to practise his kicks. As for his team-mates, Sneijder did not hesitate to name Guti as the strongest player he has ever played with, despite a difficult start in which the Spaniard did not speak to him for the first three months.

As for his toughest opponent, he surprised others by naming the Japanese player Shinji Ono, whom he faced during his time at Feyenoord and described as an extraordinary two-footed talent.

Speaking about coaches, he expressed a wish he never fulfilled: to be coached by Carlo Ancelotti. “I think I would get on well with him. Everyone speaks respectfully about Ancelotti and I have seen from the outside how he manages relationships with players — for example, the way he speaks at press conferences. Those are the things I like: a coach who speaks like that, very calm, always giving his players confidence,” he explained.

Finally, there was time to talk about his new life away from professional football. Explaining his decision to retire, Sneijder revealed: “It was not that difficult, because I stopped playing in Qatar and during that time I kept getting injured; I felt as if my leg had physically disappeared. I always told myself that when I could no longer do it physically, I would stop.”

The desire to get involved, however, has not faded. He recently took part in a survival-style reality show with other former Dutch footballers: “It was a wonderful experience, 12-13 days there without eating. I know how to cook, so I did almost everything for the other players. They were happy; it was a spectacular survival experience.”