Mohamed Ihattaren has spoken about his time at Sampdoria and why he went back home in an interview with the Telegraaf. The Dutchman felt left on his own and misunderstood in Genua. He’s training in The Netherlands to make a return and has been linked with a loan move to FC Utrecht this week.
Ihattaren also talked about his transfer to Juventus. He joined the Bianconeri at the end of the window for €1.9M. His former agent Mino Raiola had called Ihattaren, who was training, multiple times on the 30
th of August. “He said: it will be Juventus, you’ll have to fly soon. I had to go there on my own. I signed in the evening hours, slept in the hotel of the club and went to Sampdoria the next day with a taxi.”
Sampdoria’s first impression on Ihattaren wasn’t great. “When I arrived, there was nobody except the teammanager.” The midfielder also met with Roberto d’Aversa. “The coach didn’t even know that I was left footed. But I thought: I am just going to make something beautiful of it. Play football and shut up.”
No salary
It never worked out between Ihattaren and Sampdoria. The midfielder had to pay for the old hotel he was dumped in and his taxi rides. He also had no health insurance, bank account or registration of residence. Perhaps the most shocking thing: he hasn’t been payed anything as of today. The teammanger told Ihattaren he would be payed every two months, but that didn’t happen. “That’s not what it’s about that for me, but everything combined started to irritate me.”
Ihattaren gives some more examples. “We ate at the club after training and there only were three trays of pizza and sweet bread.” Like everyone knows by now, Ihattaren didn’t play a game for the team from Genoa. “I didn’t play a minute, there turned out to be zero perspective and everything that was needed to feel at home there, was missing.”
Antonio Candreva
The Dutchman suffered from his hamstring one time. Three mri-scans followed, one of those at one and a half hour from Genoa. “I don’t know why. There turned out to be no damage every time. I said I felt good and just wanted to train, but I was only aloud to bike or swim at the fysio’s.” Ihattaren felt misunderstood. There was frustration in the rest of the squad because of the uncertainty, which led to an incident with Antonio Candreva. Ihattaren emphasises that he has ‘a lot of respect’ for Candreva’s career.
A lot has been said about Ihattaren’s situation and future. None of it was true according to the Dutchman himself, but it shocked him nonetheless. “All kind of things were said about me, but there has never been spoken with me. I indeed didn’t say anything after my departure from Sampdoria, where Juventus had stalled me for a season. That’s
inexcusable.”
Ihattaren says he couldn’t bear it anymore at Sampdoria. “All kinds of agreements were not fulfilled. Like I didn’t exist.”
Ihattaren chose to return to the Netherlands after he got emotional on the training field. “I left at 13:30 and never returned to Genoa.” He got a call from d’Aversa, who told him he would start the next match. “Everything they had told me before in Genoa wasn’t true and that’s why I didn’t believe this story either.”
Working on return
Ihattaren would like to return on the field at a top club in the Netherlands. He’s happy that Juventus want to think along and work on a loan. “I know that I haven’t played for half a year and that I need a game or four to get into my rhythm.” Ihattaren posted a photo of himself training at the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam yesterday. “I want to sweat and get cramp. I want to feel that I’m playing football again. Lovely.”
