Beppe Marotta gave a revealing interview on why Inter didn’t get Paulo Dybala and Gleison Bremer, Milan Skriniar is ‘not necessarily’ going to be sold and Romelu Lukaku ‘felt the need to be among friends’ after Chelsea.
The CEO sat down with DAZN Italia during pre-season training and was surprisingly open when it came to discussing the transfer stories that have dominated their summer.
That includes the still open possibility that Skriniar could be sold to Paris Saint-Germain for €80m.
“Skriniar is an excellent player and is not necessarily going to be put on the market, absolutely not,” said Marotta.
“We had some contact in the previous weeks because of a request, everything will be evaluated, but that’s part of the normal dynamics.
“The fans should relax, the team is still competitive. We saw their passion, the way they put their faith in us with season ticket sales. We know the fans did not want to protest, but rather to clarify the situation.
“We told them that on the one hand it is our duty to build a competitive squad, on the other also the duty to look at the financial balance.”
That is why Inter missed out on two players who had seemed to be practically in their grip, free agent Dybala going to Roma instead, while Juventus beat them to Torino defender Bremer by offering €50m including bonuses.
“So much was said about Dybala, I can only say he is a great professional, but we were and indeed are sorted in attack, so there simply wasn’t room for him not because he wasn’t good enough, but because we didn’t need him. It all got twisted out of shape and made to look bad, but that wasn’t the case.
“Inter simply have a quality group of strikers and want to hold on tight. I think Roma are ideal for Dybala, because he can feel like a leader there and entertain the fans. I wish him all the best.”
The Bremer situation was more painful, as Juve swooped in with a higher offer once they managed to sell Matthijs de Ligt to Bayern Munich.
“Piero Ausilio had been working on this for months, he is a great player,” added Marotta.
“Our need for financial balance prevented us from concluding the deal, but when there are far higher offers than ours, it’s only natural the selling club will make its choice and so does the player, who is a professional.
“We missed an opportunity, but management have to try to go down paths that will have negative conclusions, that’s part of the game.”
Where Inter did shock everyone was securing the return of Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea on loan for €10m, just a year after his €113m sale.
“These are special moments in football, when a player who left suddenly feels the need to return among friends and wear the glorious jersey that took him to win the Scudetto.
“We were fortunate, because these situations require a coming together of various factors. Lukaku seems different to when he left, he’s more motivated, more of a leader. He was really angry when he lost in a training session and that shows how much he cares.”
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