Craig Bellamy has described Greg Inglis' exit from the Storm as "one of the toughest things" he has dealt with in his career.
The long-time Melbourne coach spoke candidly about 'G.I.' in a rare podcast appearance.
As the Storm's salary cap breaches were uncovered in 2010, the contracts and playing futures of several key players became cloudy.
One of those stars was Inglis, who had already made 118 NRL appearances for the club, scoring 78 tries.
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Bellamy revealed that Inglis personally offered to leave the club as one of the team's shorter-serving players.
The 64-year-old coach also recalled the emotional nature of those discussions.
"That was a tough time," Bellamy said on the Clubhouse podcast, hosted by Storm trio Ryan Papenhuyzen, Cameron Munster and Jahrome Hughes.
"G.I. felt that because he was one of the last players there, he should be one of the first to go.
"And I said: 'Mate, that’s not the case at all'.
"He didn’t want to go. He was in tears when he came and saw me.
"He had that idea that [leaving] was the right thing to do.
"I remember when he came to my office. We were both in tears to be quite honest.
"He’s one hell of a player but one hell of a good bloke too."
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After a messy contract saga involving the Broncos, Inglis eventually ended up at the Rabbitohs for the 2011 campaign, where he remained until 2019.
The 37-year-old was recently inducted into the NRL's Hall of Fame, with his initial stint at the Storm recognised as a significant part of his career.
Bellamy outlined why Inglis thrived as a young gun in Melbourne.
"He really fit in with what we believed in," the multi-premiership winning coach said.
"It was really hard [to farewell him] because he’d come down [to Melbourne] as a kid ... that’s how good he was.
"He was a shy kid, so I think him not being in the heartland of rugby league was good for him.
"[Inglis offering to leave] is one of the toughest things I’ve ever felt in my footy career – definitely as a coach."
