Wesley Sneijder insists he is looking forward to joining new club Inter Milan but added that his departure from Real Madrid had left a bad taste in his mouth.
Real are desperate to trim their squad and regain some of the money they spent on buying the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Xabi Alonso this summer.
Despite establishing himself at the Bernabeu since joining from Ajax in July 2007, the 25-year-old found himself surplus to requirements and has signed a five-year deal with Inter for a fee thought to be around €15million (Ј13.2million).
The Dutchman claims that he was happy to stay and fight for his place in the Spanish capital but in the end he had very little say in his future.
"I'm going with my head high," he told Marca . "I'm going to a great team, there's no doubt about that.
"I've been very happy here but now I have to look ahead and focus on my new team.
"The truth is that I was very happy here, it's something that I cannot deny. It makes me sad to go but that's the way it is. That's life.
"Now the only thing I can say is that I'm happy. I'm changing one great club for another great club."
Treated badlyMany expected Sneijder to be one of the players to be kept on by Real and the midfielder admits that if it was up to head coach Manuel Pellegrini he would still be at the club.
"What has happened with me is something very strange. The coach said he counted on me but there are people at the club who don't," he added.
"They have treated me very badly but I prefer not to talk about it. I'm going to give everything there [Inter]. Life and football move on."
a.top_betting_link_1 {background-image: url('/Images/skysports/fixturecal/icons/fix-bet.gif');background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:0% 50%;padding-left:18px;}Inter Milan 6/4, AC Milan 7/4, Draw 9/5Sneijder considers Inter moveTFC roll out carpet for Real Madrid
