Sneijder says leaving Real with head held high

Dutch international midfielder Wesley Sneijder said in an interview published Thursday that he is leaving Real Madrid for Inter Milan with his “head held high”.

“I am going with my head held high,” the 25-year-old, who had reportedly been refusing to budge from the Spanish giants, told sports daily Marca.

Asked if leaving a newly revitalised Real for the Italian side was a good move, he replied: “Yes, I am going to a great club. There is no doubt about it.”

Inter Milan have agreed to sign Sneijder from Real for five years in a deal worth around 16 million euros which will see the player earn four million euros per year, some 500,000 euros more than he currently earns in Spain, Spanish and Italian media reported Wednesday.

Sneijder, who joined Real from Ajax in the summer of 2007 on a five-year deal worth 27 million euros, is one of several players who the Spanish side are trying to offload to counterbalance the mega-millions purchase of Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Xabi Alonso.

Earlier this month Real sold Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar to Italian side AC Milan and two other Dutch players, Rafael Van der Vart and Arjen Robben, could also be sold before the summer transfer period ends

But Real’s Chilean coach Manuel Pellegrini hinted in July that Sneijder could be one of the Dutch players who would stay at the club.

Sneijder told Marca that Pellegrini told him as recently as Wednesday morning that he was counting on him for the upcoming season.

“What happened was really bizarre. The coach said he was counting on me but there are people at the club who did not count on me,” he said.

Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho, who has been after an attacking midfielder all summer to play at the point of his diamond formation in the centre of the park, had hoped to have Sneijder contracted before the Italian season started last weekend.

Sneijder’s move will complete an impressive set of aquisitions during the off-season by Inter, who have already added Samuel Eto’o, Diego Milito, Thiago Motta, Lucio and Marco Arnautovic to the squad.

He played 52 league matches for Real, scoring 11 goals, and played nine times in the Champions League.