Scott McTominay of SSC Napoli
Scott McTominay left Manchester United for Napoli in August
Scott McTominay has explained why he decided to leave boyhood club Manchester United for Napoli in the summer transfer window.
McTominay left England for Italy in a £25.7million move in August, joining Napoli at the same time as fellow Scotland international Billy Gilmour. Erik ten Hag had wanted to keep hold of McTominay, after he scored some crucial goals in the 2023/24 campaign, but United allowed the move partly due to financial fair play considerations.
The 28-year-old has settled quickly in Naples, contributing four goals and three assists in 18 appearances so far. He is enjoying playing under Antonio Conte, with Napoli second in Serie A, and has no regrets over his decision to leave United during a turbulent time.
“I said this in the press conference before the Scotland games. To be honest with you, it was a big decision, but it was something that was quite straightforward,” McTominay told the BBC Football Daily podcast. “I saw the passionate fans, the coach, the players, and I saw an opportunity there for myself to push my career further and I took it.
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“I didn’t look back. It didn’t take me long to make the decision because I knew that was what I wanted and I’ll never have any regrets in my life where, as soon as I’ve put my mind to something, I want to do it. That’s it.
“There’s no holding you back. For me, I love this place. I love the fans, my team-mates – it’s been a pleasure to be with Billy every day, rather than just with Scotland. We’ve helped each other a lot, which has been good as well.
“Was I surprised (they let me go)? I don’t know. You’ll have to ask them. I don’t read the newspapers, or read too much that goes on in terms of social media, so I wouldn’t know too much of the reaction. It’s not important.
Erik ten Hag wanted to keep Scott McTominay ( Image: Getty Images)
“The decision has been made on both parts and it was a mutual decision. For all of us, it was a case of there’s an opportunity, do you want to go? Obviously, I know from their side, FFP is difficult so it’s not easy for football clubs to make a decision in regards to homegrown players. For me, that was never in my thought process. My thought process was coming here, seeing the fans and how passionate they are, the coach and hopefully coming here to do really good things.”
Asked about his relationship with Ten Hag, McTominay added: “On my last day I went to see everyone and granted, I’ve been there for a long time so it was not easy to say goodbye to people, but that’s football. I spoke to him and he expressed his thoughts on the situation. It is what it is.
“I said ‘Listen, it’s my career, I’m here to push myself. In this situation I have to look out for number one, which is myself, so I’ve got to go with my gut feeling and not be held back in my career by any external factors’. It was amicable. I love that football club – they’ve been my life for 22 years, but I’ve moved on now and I’m thoroughly enjoying myself here.”
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