Barella and his eighth season at Inter: I would like to stay here forever

Inter faces Manchester City on Saturday at 1:30 PM Italian time (7:30 PM local time) at the Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong, in a high-level friendly match. The match will be broadcast live on DAZN and Sky for subscribers, while it will be available on pay-per-view on OneFootball and DAZN for non-subscribers. In the pre-match press conference, Nicolò Barella answered journalists’ questions.

Unlike last season, part of the group was able to enjoy a few extra weeks of rest. Asked about this aspect and the training camp in Germany, the midfielder explained: “Having a bit more time to recover is always important. Of course, watching others play in the World Cup was a stab in the back. But even from bad things you have to take the good, think about the fact that we had the chance to rest and did hard work in Germany. We have fueled up for the league.”

At the start of his eighth season with the Nerazzurri, Barella clarified what his aspirations are: “I approach things as always, the goal here has always been to win, sometimes it has been difficult, sometimes we have made mistakes, that’s football. The goal is the same for the club, the management, the team. Eight seasons: I would like to always stay here, it will depend on my physical level in the coming years.”

On his room for improvement, the number 23 for the Nerazzurri was confident: “I hope I can raise my level even more. All the coaches I have worked with have left me something, now the coach maybe asks and teaches me new things. There is always room to learn.”

One question concerned Mancini, head coach of the national team. “I haven’t heard from anyone yet, we were focused in training camp. With Mancini we had an incredible experience during his tenure, I thank him for what we did, we will try to do our best for the national team and the Italian people.”

Finally, on bouncing back after a complicated season that led to victory, Barella concluded: “The only way is to get back up, these are the situations you have to face, this is football, you have to roll up your sleeves, follow the coach, what we have inside, find the strength and energy, Inter is my family and it’s normal to give everything.”