BRUSSELS: Belgium left midfielder Radja Nainggolan out of their World Cup squad on Monday despite a standout season with Champions League semi-finalists AS Roma.

Belgium coach Roberto Martinez has long had a difficult relationship with the stormy midfielder but said he left him out purely for tactical reasons, saying Nainggolan was not the kind of player to take to a long tournament if he was only given a secondary position.

The Spanish former Everton manager said: “It was a sad and difficult decision. He is a player with a lot of class and he was voted Roma’s best player, but I’ve made my decision for purely tactical reasons.

“I have put in place a specific system that works. I don’t think Radja is a player to be used in a small role in any group. We all know he has a very important role at club level and I don’t feel that we can give him that.”

Martinez said he had travelled to Rome to explain his choice to the player, but he declined to elaborate on that encounter.

The 30-year-old Nainggolan announced his retirement from international soccer almost immediately afterward. He made 30 appearances for Belgium and played at the 2016 European championships in France.

“Very reluctantly my international career comes to an end,” Nainggolan wrote on his Instagram account.

After being called up for a warm-up game in March against Saudi Arabia, expectations had been that Nainggolan would be on the final roster.

The player, who also announced plans to retire last year after Martinez left him out, made clear he saw a clash of personality as an issue.

“I’ve always done everything I could to represent my country. Being yourself can be bothering” he said.

In his native Dutch, he said; “Unfortunately, being REAL is not enough for SOME PEOPLE”, adding that the decision to quit international football gave him “much pain in my heart”.

For the past two years, Martinez has never found a starting spot for Nainggolan. He was often a substitute while midfielders like Axel Witsel, who has moved to the Chinese league, continued to play. Compounding the player’s on-field issues were off-field reports of ill-discipline.

However, Nainggolan was excellent for Roma in Serie A this season and in the unexpected run in the Champions League, where the team fell one goal short in the semi-finals against Liverpool.

The decision to omit Nainggolan was criticised by former Belgian international Philippe Albert.

“We must be the only country in the world to be making the trip without one of the best players in the world. This is not the way to become world champions.”

Instead of immediately going for the final squad of 23, Martinez kept it to a wider selection of 28 which will face Portugal on June 2 before the team is cut to 23. Belgium face England, Panama and Tunisia in Group ‘G’ at the World Cup.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Koen Casteels (Wolfsburg), Matz Sels (Anderlecht), Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea), Simon Mignolet (Liverpool).

Defenders: Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham), Dedryck Boyata (Celtic), Laurent Ciman (Los Angeles FC), Leander Dendoncker (Anderlecht), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City), Jordan Lukaku (Lazio), Christian Kabasele (Watford), Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham), Thomas Vermaelen (Barcelona).

Midfielders: Yannick Carrasco (Dalian Yifang), Nacer Chadli (West Bromwich Albion), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Mousa Dembele (Tottenham), Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Thorgan Hazard (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Adnan Januzaj (Real Sociedad), Thomas Meunier (Paris Saint-Germain), Youri Tielemans (Monaco), Axel Witsel (Tianjin Quanjian).

Forwards: Michy Batshuayi (Borussia Dortmund), Christian Benteke (Crystal Palace), Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United), Dries Mertens (Napoli).

Published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2018