Scott McTominay branded ‘average’ in astonishing rant by Serie A icon

May 2, 2026 - 17:15

Serie A legend Radja Nainggolan has given a blisteringly hot take on Napoli and Scotland star Scott McTominay.

The ex-Manchester United midfielder has been a huge hit in Italy since a £25.7million transfer in 2024.

McTominay has continued his impressive form this season but not everyone like his performances[/caption]

Last season, in his first campaign, the 29-year-old stunned most onlookers by going on to become the Serie A MVP.

He did so leading the club to their fourth league title, scoring an acrobatic goal in the 2-0 win over Cagliari that sealed the triumph.

As well as the Scudetto win, he won multiple individual awards, and a Ballon d’Or nomination, before then helping the team to the Supercoppa Italiana in December 2025.

In total he has 26 goals in 76 matches for Napoli, but they are set to relinquish their grip on the title with Inter Milan ready to claim it.

McTominay is also a cultural icon in Naples within two years.

He’s already got multiple images displayed around the city, while he’s known as McFratm (McBrother) by his adoring fans.

Nainggolan is not one of those fans – entirely the opposite, in fact.

“I don’t like him,” Nainggolan told Sky Calcio Unplugged.

“He scores a lot of goals, but in general play… he’ll always get 12, 13, 14 goals, but if he has to build play, he doesn’t have the technique to operate between the lines.

“He’s an average player.”

McTominay also helped Scotland qualify for the 2026 World Cup[/caption]

Nainggolan isn’t quite enamoured with McTominay though[/caption]

He continued: “At my peak I was better than him (McTominay) and Hakan Calhanoglu, but I put Nicolo Barella above myself.

“He doesn’t always score many goals, but when he does, they are important, and you can always feel the difference when he plays.

“I really like Kevin De Bruyne, he sees things others don’t. I’d put him above me. And if you mention Luka Modric… he has always been one of the best in the world.”

Often an outspoken figure, Nainggolan also didn’t hold back when speaking about the Belgian national team.

He won 30 caps for his nation, playing at Euro 2016, but after missing out on selection for the 2018 World Cup, he retired from internationals.

And he believes he knows the reason why they often came up short despite having a golden generation of talents.

Belgium were knocked out of Euro 2016 by Wales

He said: “We had [Romelu] Lukaku, [Eden] Hazard, [Kevin] De Bruyne, [Thibaut] Courtois. When you put all these players together, there are too many protagonists, too many divas.

“They all wanted to be protagonists, to be the most important player, and that can’t work.”