European star was close to move
Inter Milan playmaker Wesley Sneijder has confirmed that he was close to leaving the club as they were prepared to sell him to Manchester United in the summer transfer window.
Negotiations underwent between the two clubs in the summer, however they were unable to make an agreement.
However Inter are believed to be suffering from financial problems, and they eventually sold striker Samuel Eto’o to Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala for a fee believed to be around £18.4million.
And now the Dutch midfielder has now revealed what happened during the summer that resulted in speculation linking him with a move away from the San Siro.
“I never thought that I would have to leave Inter,” the 27-year-old told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “I left for vacation with the coming back to the team, but when I was on holiday my agent called me and told me that we needed to talk to Inter.
“And then Inter told me that if there was a possibility, then they would sell me. It was not a technical problem, I think it was a question of money.
“In short, something had changed so I decided to change my way of thinking too. When I arrived (to the training camp) in Pinzolo, I spoke with club (president Massimo) Moratti, who is a very important person for me, with (club directors) (Marco) Branca and (Piero ) Ausilio, and they all told me that I am very important for Inter.
“But I knew that one between me and (Samuel) Eto’o had to go: on the day that Eto’o left, I realised that I would remain, and I am happy to do so.”
