The midfielder was not among the 22 players chosen by Martinez for the World Cup, in spite of an impressive season with his last club Roma – causing him to quit international football.
The manager said he left Nainggolan out of the World Cup squad for tactical reasons, though concerns with his off-pitch lifestyle were also rumoured to have affected the decision.
The player told ESPN: “There were the excuses, but they were all pathetic. Why was I playing 50 games for Roma if I was leading the same life [I was being criticised for]?
He continued: “I'd played a great European Championship and then I was discarded for nothing… in Belgium, there were players who were not playing at club level and they were getting called up.
"I was playing 50 games and was still being left out. I was never demanding that I had to play, I just deserved to be there in place of some other players.”
Belgium were knocked out of the World Cup by eventual winners France at the semi-final stage, but failed to progress in the Nations League from a group containing Switzerland and Iceland.
Nainggolan maintains that he will stick by his decision to retire from international duty – even if Martinez should be replaced by another manager.
He said: “I'm not going back to the national team again. I said that if I don't go to the World Cup, I'll quit, and I'm a man of my word.
“If they change the coach tomorrow and he says: 'come on, come on' — it's still no. Because when I make up my mind, I stick to it.”
Surprisingly, Nainggolan only managed to amass 30 caps in his international career. He also missed out on selection for the 2014 World Cup, but played in all five of Belgium’s games at Euro 2016, scoring twice.
The 30-year old attracted the attention of Manchester United and Chelsea before deciding to join Inter this summer for a reported £21 million.
Source: Read Full Article