Mathieu Valbuena would have been annoyed had his native France beaten Portugal in the 2016 European Championship final.
Having been left out of the side due to his off-field legal case involving Karim Benzema, Valbuena felt hard done by.
"I was severely punished for a situation wherein I was a victim," Valbuena told RMC Sport.
"[Head cocah] Didier [Deschamps] called me and told me he wouldn't take me to protect me. I was doubly punished for being a victim.
"It was painful to not be in the squad. I had been hoping to return but I soon realised my chances of that were dead.
"I don't deny that if France had won that European Championship, I wouldn't have been happy."
Turning his attention to how things were going away from the pitch, the Olympiacos midfielder knows that as hard as it was for him, his loved ones suffered more.
"It was terrible," Valbuena said of the situation as a whole. "The case came out and I had already warned my family of what was coming.
"Everything fell apart for me. But it was most difficult for my family."