Torino defender Nicolas Nkoulou was heavily linked with a move to Roma this summer, however, the Granata blocked any transfer of the Cameroon international. Today, the former Lyon man spoke to L’Equipe about his situation following his refusal to play for Torino in their Europa League clash against Wolves.
“I am a loyal, honest and upright man. In my career, no teammate, manager or director has ever questioned my professionalism. A professional must inform his employer if he is not in the best conditions to complete his tasks — so I did that with the manager and my teammates”.
“For me, a man is defined by the way he respects his word. Unfortunately, I realised that certain promises are difficult to maintain. I took note of the fact that the directors once again blocked my departure. But I’ll stay faithful to my principles, I will return to work without these events affecting neither my motivation nor my professionalism”.
Torino president Urbano Cairo was asked later about the defender’s interview during the Granata’s unveiling of Simon Verdi and responded, “There’s nothing new with Nkoulou. He knows what he’s got to do. The interview with L’Equipe? He arrived here two years ago — I agreed to take him on loan with option to buy. When the season ended, his agent told me Sevilla were interested”.
He continued, “His agent told me that there was a promise from the former sporting director to sell the player, but this was never told to me. The issue will be resolved in the appropriate forums, not through interviews”.
