Hakan Calhanoglu has decided to send his best festive wishes to AC Milan by claiming Inter ‘have a better squad’ and claiming the Rossoneri never explained the reasons for his exit.
Calhanoglu made the decision not to extend his contract with Milan when it expired last June and instead to start a new adventure across the city divide with the Rossoneri’s rivals Inter, where he had a mixed start but did net a penalty against his former club in the derby and has since hit some good form.
The former Leverkusen man spoke to the Turkish media channel S Sport about his passage from one side of the Navigli to the other and he certainly didn’t seem to be in the mood to quell the tensions.
“When I moved to Inter I had a lot of setbacks and a difficult period with this situation. After all, Milan had not been able to participate in the Champions League for seven seasons. There are many different reasons for my departure. Milan did not explain them, so the match remained in my hands. I was happy after scoring the goal,” he said (via MilanNews).
“They welcomed me very well at Inter. Since I was playing for Milan I got used to Italy. Now I also know Italian. The team is of the highest quality. We have a better squad than Milan and I have to thank the manager because he wanted me a lot. At Inter I’m playing a different role. At Milan I played as number 10. Here Barella, Brozovic and I alternate in positions of 6 or 8.
“I knew the Milan derby wasn’t going to be easy for me. I prepared a lot for that match. I never put myself under pressure. We had Lautaro Martinez as a penalty taker, and then me. But my team-mates wanted me to take it in the derby.”
It was recently reported that Alexis Saelemaekers was the only Milan player who made any attempt to greet Calhanoglu after the full time whistle in the derby.
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