Midfielder Radja Nainggolan told police he was having financial difficulties and had taken out a loan to pay off debts.
Belgian midfielder Radja Nainggolan was arrested in January of this year due to a drug trafficking charge. During a recent interrogation, the athlete reportedly confirmed that he had borrowed money from a criminal.
The former Internazionale and Roma athlete is free, but is still being investigated by the police. He is suspected of having been part of a cocaine trafficking scheme in Belgium. According to information from the website Het Laatste Nieuws, Nainggolan told police he was having financial difficulties and had borrowed 100,000 euros (R$648,000 at the current exchange rate) from Nasr-Eddine Sekkaki, a known outlaw in the country.
The money was withdrawn from the criminal’s mother’s account and given to the midfielder in cash. The player later returned the amount in transfers ranging from 5,000 to 30,000 euros.
The footballer claimed that the amount had been used to pay off debts at a casino. According to the media outlet, Sekkaki told authorities that he had given the money to the player out of “friendship” and that Radja had returned the entire amount.
Nainggolan’s career
A product of the youth ranks of Piacenza in Italy, Nainggolan stood out in lesser teams in the country before joining clubs such as Roma and Internazionale. The midfielder signed with Lokeren-Temse in Belgium this season. He played 13 games for the team, scoring four goals and providing two assists.
