(CNN) The failure to deliver the "beauty of democracy" was one of the chief reasons behind the Paris attacks, says Belgian soccer star Vincent Kompany.

The suicide bombings and shootings in the French capital killed 130 people and left hundreds wounded. It shocked the watching world and brought to the fore Europe's problem in dealing with terrorism.

Attention quickly switched to the Belgian capital of Brussels, which remains at the center of investigations that an ISIS terrorist cel l working in the area carried out the attacks.

Kompany said Belgian politicians had failed to recognize the potential problems because of their lack of interaction with the local communities.

"There's a sense of me that really believes that it was predictable, really predictable," Belgium's national captain, who grew up in a troubled Brussels neighborhood , told CNN's Amanda Davies.

"I think it was inevitable, because I only used to see politicians in our neighborhoods once every six years when they needed to come for votes," he said.

"Then and now something would pop up out of the ground and somebody cut a red ribbon to say that we've done this for the community.

"But I have really struggled to see a real concern, a genuine desire to be a part of making those neighborhoods."

Kompany says he did not sleep for three nights after the attacks in the French capital.

Sleep didn't come any easier as the news filtered through that the attacks had been planned by a terrorist cell operating out of Molenbeek, a suburb near where he grew up.

But he is not persuaded by the argument that the Belgian capital is simply a "hotbed of terrorism."

Instead, he cites the high levels of unemployment and the lack of opportunities given to those from deprived backgrounds as a catalyst for radicalization.

Photos: Vincent Kompany: Paris attacks not a surprise Vincent Kompany is one of the world's top defenders. He is captain of both English Premier League club Manchester City and the Belgian national team. But at the moment Kompany has got other things on his mind apart from football ... Hide Caption 1 of 21 Photos: Vincent Kompany: Paris attacks not a surprise ... Notably the fragile political situation in Europe after the terror attacks in Paris. Hide Caption 2 of 21 Photos: Vincent Kompany: Paris attacks not a surprise Kompany says he did not sleep for three nights after the attacks in the French capital. Hide Caption 3 of 21 Photos: Vincent Kompany: Paris attacks not a surprise The Manchester City defender grew up in the Brussels district of Uccle, which is not far from the suburb of Molenbeek -- where it emerged the terrorist attacks in Paris were planned. Hide Caption 4 of 21 Photos: Vincent Kompany: Paris attacks not a surprise Brussels remains at the center of investigations that an ISIS terrorist cell working in the area carried out the attacks. Hide Caption 5 of 21 Photos: Vincent Kompany: Paris attacks not a surprise Armed police have been stationed on the streets of Brussels with the city on high state of alert. Hide Caption 6 of 21 Photos: Vincent Kompany: Paris attacks not a surprise Kompany's father was a political refugee from Zaire and his mother was a trade union leader. Hide Caption 7 of 21 Photos: Vincent Kompany: Paris attacks not a surprise Kompany's father Pierre, moved to Belgium from Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo, after protesting against the dictatorship of Mobutu Sese Seko. Hide Caption 8 of 21 Photos: Vincent Kompany: Paris attacks not a surprise

"Within my first year of moving abroad living on my own, my sister got ill -- she got cancer -- and at the same time my mum got cancer and she passed away," he told CNN's Kompany's passage to the top of European football hasn't been an easy one. After securing his first overseas move, to German side Hamburg, the commanding central defender suffered what he describes as the pivotal moment in his life."Within my first year of moving abroad living on my own, my sister got ill -- she got cancer -- and at the same time my mum got cancer and she passed away," he told CNN's Human to Hero series in July. Hide Caption 9 of 21 Photos: Vincent Kompany: Paris attacks not a surprise Kompany, who is married to Mancunian born Carla Higgs, has three children. He says he would have little problem in bringing them back to Brussels if he was ever to return to the city. Hide Caption 10 of 21 Photos: Vincent Kompany: Paris attacks not a surprise Kompany, moved to Manchester City in 2008 from Hamburg, married Carla in 2011. Hide Caption 11 of 21 Photos: Vincent Kompany: Paris attacks not a surprise Kompany has become an international ambassador for the charity SOS Children's Villages. Hide Caption 12 of 21 Photos: Vincent Kompany: Paris attacks not a surprise The 29-year-old Kompany began his career at storied Belgian team Anderlecht, where he established himself as one of the most promising defenders in Europe having grown up just a few miles away from the club. Hide Caption 13 of 21 Photos: Vincent Kompany: Paris attacks not a surprise Kompany appointed his sister, Christel, as chairwoman of BX Brussels after buying FC Bleid-Molenbeek in 2013. The team is used as a way of bringing people together in the Belgian capital. Hide Caption 14 of 21 Photos: Vincent Kompany: Paris attacks not a surprise The defender told CNN's Human to Hero series in July he would never fall for the trappings of fame on offer for soccer stars. "I always said to my mother, 'The richer I get, the better it is for a lot of people, so don't worry about it.' Hide Caption 15 of 21 Photos: Vincent Kompany: Paris attacks not a surprise People lit hundreds of candles for the victims of the Paris attacks at the Place de la Republique. Similar tributes were carried out across France and the rest of the world. Hide Caption 16 of 21 Photos: Vincent Kompany: Paris attacks not a surprise Kompany is not the only high-profile to speak out about the Paris attacks. This week Paris Saint-Germain striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic told CNN that he was happy to remain in the French capital despite the November 13 attacks. "It's not like it was before," added Ibrahimovic. "But we still need to go on. We cannot give up here. We go on and we do what we need to do." Hide Caption 17 of 21 Photos: Vincent Kompany: Paris attacks not a surprise English and French football fans united at Wembley Stadium just four days after the attacks on Paris. The friendly game, which England won 2-0, was preceded by a rendition of "La Marseillaise" which was sung by both home and away supporters. Hide Caption 18 of 21 Photos: Vincent Kompany: Paris attacks not a surprise Kompany made his international debut for Belgium against France in 2004, aged 17. Ten years later, he led Belgium to their first World Cup for 12 years. Hide Caption 19 of 21 Photos: Vincent Kompany: Paris attacks not a surprise Kompany and Belgium exited at the quarterfinal stage after defeat by Argentina at the 2014 World Cup. Hide Caption 20 of 21 Photos: Vincent Kompany: Paris attacks not a surprise Kompany has twice won the English Premier League with Manchester City and is set to play for Belgium at Euro 2016 in France. Hide Caption 21 of 21

Kompany's late mother, Jocelyne, worked at an employment office in the city, so he says he was made aware of the consequences of social deprivation.

And if a solution is to be found to combat the growing threat of radicalization, Kompany believes a lack of opportunities -- and a growing isolation between communities and the city's political structure -- needs to be addressed.

Just spent a pretty special hour in the company of the one and only @VincentKompany. Exclusive iv coming up on @CNN pic.twitter.com/NBmU6ZqlfP — Amanda Davies (@AmandaJDavies) November 25, 2015

Kompany, the son of a political refugee from Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo, and a French-Belgian, grew up in a neighborhood with a 90% Muslim population.

He recalls celebrating the end of Ramadan with his classmates, because they could then play together again, and also taking delight in the treats that were shared at the end of this fasting period.

However, if Belgium is fighting for the hearts and minds of the disenfranchised, Kompany fears the battle is being lost.

"The reason why it hurt me so much is because they're not people of a religious faction, they're people that have been able to fall off the grid and people have been able to indoctrinate them," the 29-year-old said.

"I remember that the one thing that kept coming back is that there was some sort of a feeling of injustice."

According to figures released by the International Center for the Study of Radicalization and Political Violence in January, an estimated 440 Belgians had taken up arms for Sunni extremist groups in the Middle East -- a per-capita figure about double that of France, and four times that of the UK.

"Depending on, from my area, kids that had a chance to come in touch with different cultures from other areas of the country, you would then naturally fall back into place at the moment where you had to make a decision whether you go radical or whether you want to allow this world to continue and have an input in this world in a different way," Kompany said.

"Now, if you don't have those triggers around you -- and this is what has happened in a lot of boroughs within Brussels -- you don't see the fact that you can't relate to anything that is happening when people or politicians talk on TV.

"So by the time you make a decision, it's too late to go back on it and you're doing something completely stupid. This is why I find it very difficult to completely refuse to give them a name that associates them with a religion.

"I think quite clearly something's gone wrong, terribly wrong."

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Speaking to CNN a day before British Prime Minister David Cameron said launching UK air strikes against ISIS in Syria would "make us safer," Kompany argued that any potential war would be against "people we have lost touch with."

"All we hear is declaration of wars -- and wars against whom?" questioned Kompany. "Ultimately you're only fighting your own people."

However, Kompany insists that the Paris suicide bombers were not considered Muslims by the wider Muslim community.

"All my friends get very angry if I even mention them as to be Muslim, so in that sense as well, if you talk towards the perpetrators of those attacks, I think we give them too much credit and too much of a stage by even calling them by their name they want to be called," he said.

"It's the criminal state if anything -- and not what they claim to be."

Belgium, which set a world record of not having a government for 589 days in 2010-11, is no stranger to terrorism.

In May 2015, Brussels suffered its own attack when four people were killed at the Jewish Museum.

Molenbeek has a predominantly Muslim population of first, second and third-generation immigrants from North Africa, and has gained an unwelcome reputation as a hotbed of jihadism.

"The problem with Molenbeek is not necessarily about nationality, it's more about the segregation," Kompany added. "It's not just Molenbeek, I need to repeat it.

"Ultimately, people living in Brussels will have to be responsible as well for making sure the stuff like this can never happen again.

"I remember always going to the train station where I grew up and on the wall was written, 'The real wealth of a nation is diversity of cultures.'

"Where I grew up that's what I saw and that's what I believe in as well -- and I still believe it.

"Molenbeek has got so much talent -- so many people are capable of doing so many great things. But Molenbeek is just a borough of Brussels -- it should be the whole city taking responsibility for everything happening on its territory."

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Kompany, who lives in England and plays for Manchester City, remains committed to bringing positive change to his hometown.

He owns BX Brussels , a lower league football club in Brussels in which he installed his sister Christel as chairwoman.

Kompany describes the venture as a sports club and social venture which aims to bring children from all backgrounds together.

As the father of three kids, he is increasingly aware of the environment in which they grow up. He says he would have little problem in bringing them back to Brussels if he was ever to return to the city.

"Life is what it is -- you can't shield them from everything," he said.

"I want my kids to go and see the world and understand they are privileged, but it doesn't mean they don't have the right to speak up and see what is happening.

"Brussels will always be this city of diversity, of wealth of culture, and I encourage everyone to speak and say how much they love the city, and to just now start the positive talking."