Lautaro Martinez insists he’s not considering a move to Real Madrid as his thoughts ‘are only for Inter‘ and believes Leo Messi ‘would have won the Ballon d’Or 15 times’ if it wasn’t for Cristiano Ronaldo.
Lautaro sits next to his compatriot Leo Messi at the Ballon d’Or Ceremony held in Paris on Monday evening.
El Toro was among the Serie A stars in the 30-man Ballon d’Or shortlist and was eventually ranked 20th.
Messi is tipped to win the eighth Ballon d’Or in his career tonight and Lautaro told ESPN before the ceremony: “He [Messi] had to share this era with Cristiano Ronaldo, otherwise he would have won the Ballon d’Or 15 times.”
Napoli striker Victor Osimhen was the best-placed Serie A player, finishing 8th ahead of his teammate Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Inter’s Nicolò Barella.
During his round of interviews in the mixed zone, Lautaro also spoke to Spanish Twitcher Ibai Llanos who asked the Nerazzurri forward if he was really close to joining Real Madrid last summer.
“We are talking about a very important club, but my thoughts are only for Inter,” El Toro replied.
“I am really happy there, I have a contract and my family is happy in Milan. This is a special night for me, so I thank Inter and the Argentinean national team. I hope I can take Inter as high as possible in 2024 and represent Argentina in the best possible way. I want to win titles, this is what sport is about.”
Lautaro is under contract with Inter until June 2026, but the Nerazzurri CEO Beppe Marotta has recently confirmed that the 26-year-old wants to stay at the club, so he will soon be offered a new contract.
Lautaro is the current Serie A leading scorer with 11 goals in 10 appearances.