Dumfries: "Mourinho and I love Inter. Return? If they still want me after Real..."

The Dutch full-back, now at Real Madrid, also spoke at length about his Inter past and the bond he has with the club.

Denzel Dumries remains an automatic pick for the Netherlands and now for Real Madrid too after choosing to leave Inter. Speaking from the Netherlands training camp in a long interview with Libero, the full-back reflected on his time at Inter, a spell that clearly left its mark and still holds a place in his heart.

Mourinho and I love Inter

"Everything is going well with Mourinho. I like him a lot. He is a great manager. You only have to look at what he has done in his career. I obviously also know about his past at Inter. We are only just at the start of the season and we are beginning to get to know each other, but the early signs are very good. We have spoken a lot about Inter. The period we spent there was very special for both of us. We love Inter, we still follow them and we talk about them"

I still follow Inter

"I follow everything and I still speak to my former team-mates. It's normal: if you play together for five years, you become friends, bonds are formed between the families and the children too. I'm in touch with lots of players and when Inter score I'm very happy for them. This feeling will never go away. I speak a lot with Marcus (Thuram ed.), we still play the same jokes on each other and he tells me everything. In these five years we became a family. Now I follow them from afar, but I see everything."

Real's choice

"After five years at Inter, I felt it was the right time to try something new. Real are the biggest club in the world for me and it is a privilege to play here. It had nothing to do with Inter, because I had a wonderful time there.

Sometimes in life you feel you need new challenges and Real were the perfect club for me. Playing for Inter was a great honour, but it was the step I wanted to take. The lads were very happy for me too. It was the right time

The initial criticism

"The start was not easy, I was heavily criticised. Most people do not know it, but I am very hard on myself. When criticism comes from outside, I have probably already made that same criticism of myself ten times

One of my coaches in the Netherlands taught me that when criticism comes, you have to accept it, embrace it and turn it into motivation. I arrived after Hakimi’s outstanding season, Inter had just won the Serie A title and many people did not know me. I knew that at the start it would not be easy. But from day one I wanted to prove I was an Inter player. That is what I tried to do until the end. That is why I left with a smile"

The Serie A titles won

"The best memory? I'd say the first Serie A title. The last one was also very special, but the first was incredible. The second star is something that will remain in history forever. Then, of course, the last Serie A title was also a huge surprise. Everyone looked at Inter and wondered what would happen. Winning the double with Chivu was fantastic. They were incredible years. When the Champions League matches came around, the opponents knew playing against us would be difficult

The family support Inter

"My son is Italian, he is a real Italian! And he is a huge Inter fan. All my family are still big Inter fans. The eldest speaks Italian and always says: 'I am an Italian boy.'

Italy will never leave my family's life and I don't want that to happen. It is a beautiful culture. My two youngest children were born in Milan. Italy will always be a special place for me and my family."

To return?

"Come back? We'll have to see whether they still want me after my career in Madrid! In any case, I'll be tied to Inter for the rest of my life. In what role, I don't know, but some things last forever. For now, though, I want to do the best I possibly can at Real and win trophies. Then we'll see what happens