Inter director Beppe Marotta insists the club isn’t demanding players take pay cuts, but they will ‘appeal to their conscience’ and meet individually to explain the extent of their financial problems.

The game with Sampdoria kicks off at 17.00 UK time (16.00 GMT), click here for the line-ups and Liveblog.

Inter director Beppe Marotta insists the club isn’t demanding players take pay cuts, but they will ‘appeal to their conscience’ and meet individually to explain the extent of their financial problems.

The game with Sampdoria kicks off at 17.00 UK time (16.00 GMT), click here for the line-ups and Liveblog.

“It’s a strong feeling that repays us for all the sacrifices and hard work, so it is an extraordinary moment for all Interisti,” Marotta told Sky Sport Italia.

The focus was already moved onto the reports that Inter players are refusing to take pay cuts for next season, as well as suggestions they would be asked to give up their Scudetto bonus. Marotta was asked if he could clarify the situation.

“The clarity is that this is a moment of great celebration for everyone. The President and everyone are present, so it is only right that Conte and the principle figures in this situation can enjoy the moment.

“I can say that next week there will be individual meetings with players, alongside the owners and President Steven Zhang, to make the players realise what financial difficulties there are in football in general and also specifically at Inter, due to the pandemic.

“I can confirm the Scudetto bonuses will be paid, as they were earned and the club recognises that. For the rest, it’s about taking a snapshot of where football is right now.

“There is no diktat from the club, we just want to work with the players and appeal to their conscience during this difficult moment for all of European and global football.”

Marotta assures it is hardly just Inter who are in this situation and having to take some radical action, which sparked the Super League project.

“The current football model is not sustainable. Costs continue to levitate and for us the cost of work goes from 70-80 per cent of revenue. Any company would be close to default in a situation like that.

“We find ourselves now with a club that has certain costs and uncertain revenue. It wasn’t anyone’s fault, there was a catastrophic effect that this pandemic had on the whole football world. The club invested hundreds of millions over the last few years, this was a global pandemic and there wasn’t anything we could do about it.”

Does that mean Inter fans can expect no new signings on the transfer market this summer?

“This squad deservedly won the Scudetto, so that means they have quality. The aim of a big club is always to reinforce, but we’ll talk about that later. We are here to celebrate the Scudetto, an extraordinary achievement from players and staff. We’ll calmly discuss the future at a later date.”

There were also reports that Inter and other big clubs pulled out of the negotiations to bring fresh investment into the Lega Serie A due to the Super League contracts.

“This concept has been really misrepresented. Inter were open to negotiate with funds, but that means negotiating to achieve certain conditions that suit everyone. Inter did not consider the conditions to be positive.”

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