Sampdoria president Massimo Ferrero says Patrik Schick was on his way to Inter Milan before their Chinese owners blocked the deal.

Schick is now a Roma player after his sale last month.

“He didn't want to stay, otherwise I'd have kept him for another year," Ferrero told Gazzetta dello Sport.

“The problem with these players is their agents, who treat them as if they were works of art, but at 20 years of age, all [the clubs] wanted him: Monaco, PSG, Juventus, Roma…

“He can become a prince In Giallorosso, but I'll be honest: without the Chinese government's restrictions, he'd have been at Inter with Milan Skriniar.

“Chinese owners at Inter and Milan? Who are they? If the Chinese went to Genoa with so much money, I'd never sell Sampdoria to them."