Insigne: "I love Napoli: I would have walked back here, I would even have accepted a salary of €1,500. In Toronto, I was feeling down about my football"

"I feel good physically. I’m starting to enjoy myself again after three years of not performing at my best. In Toronto, I was never 100% physically: I was getting injured and, just to get back on the pitch, I’d play even though I wasn’t fully recovered. Plus, there’s no relegation there: I missed the pressure I was used to. The more pressure I feel, the more at ease I am. On top of that, I was in a team that wasn’t very competitive, and that really got me down football-wise.”

"It was tough, but I kept training. I kept telling myself, 'I'm not giving up – I'm only 34.' During the five months I was waiting for a call, my wife would say to me, 'I hope you find something,' but now she says it was better when I was at home."

"I’ve made myself available to the team. I try to lead by example in everything I do. I’m a point of reference and I speak up when I see things I don’t like. But we’re a close-knit group and we know we can cause trouble for anyone."

"There were also a few calls from abroad, but they were concerned that I’d been training on my own. I told them that, given my physical condition, it would only take 15–20 days to get back into shape. I would have walked to Naples; when they contacted me, I couldn’t sleep. I’d even offered to accept the minimum wage, at €1,500 a month. I wasn’t disappointed, because you have to respect people’s choices. But in my heart, after Napoli comes Pescara.”

"I'm a Napoli fan and I'm delighted they've won two Scudetti. My only regret is not having won it with 91 points. The pressure really took its toll. I was playing under a lot of pressure. I also had arguments with the fans when I was younger. Today I regret it and wouldn’t do it again. People didn’t understand me properly, though that was partly my fault too. I like to joke around, but at first I kept to myself and came across as arrogant.”

Here, as you can see in the video, Insigne gets emotional when talking about Napoli: “I care too much about the Napoli shirt; it makes me angry that I wasn’t able to give everything I wanted to. I couldn’t make myself understood. When the club called me in January, I had tears in my eyes. I was crying because I love Napoli. It wasn’t just football; it was love. And you can’t put a price on that. After 12 years, I no longer had the physical or mental energy. Parting ways was a decision made by both parties, with no blame to be laid at either side’s door."

"I played my best football under Sarri. I liked Gattuso’s approach and our relationship because he’s a straightforward person. Three teammates to take anywhere? Hamsik, Koulibaly and Mertens. Cavani or Higuain? I set both of them up for goals. Cavani gets deeper into the box and fights harder, but I’d choose Gonzalo because his quality impressed me. He was an attacking midfielder disguised as a striker.”

"My first memory? Me jumping on Donnarumma after he saved that last penalty, thinking: 'What have we done!'. I might end up playing in Serie D, but I won’t give up on the national team: if they call me up, I’ll be there in a flash."