Inter director Beppe Marotta says Lautaro Martinez is ‘our Lionel Messi’ and that this will be the final club before he begins a very different type of career.
He was interviewed at a library in Milan during the presentation of a new book and was asked about the current squad at San Siro.
“Lautaro is our Lionel Messi. It is difficult to say which is the best player I ever worked with, because everyone has different strengths, but I have to say Lautaro because he is a young talent who is becoming a champion. He improves game by game and is still so young.”
The Nerazzurri reached the Champions League Final last season and won the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana, but the Scudetto remains the ultimate target.
“We will give it our best, there has to be a balance between pressure and optimism, but naturally the 20th title is something that is historic.”
Marotta worked at Sampdoria, Juventus and came to Inter in December 2018, but revealed this is the end of a long journey.
“I can say Inter will be my final club,” confessed the 66-year-old, who hinted he is looking at a future in politics.
His contract with the Nerazzurri runs to June 2025, so there is plenty of time for him to prepare for that.
Juventus and Atalanta have set up the so-called B-Teams that play in Serie C, helping to prepare younger players for the senior squad with more experience than they would otherwise have at Primavera level.
“I think they are an indispensable instrument in the growth of young players, but unfortunately Inter do not have the adequate structures. So if we had an Under-23 team, where would we get them to train? This is a problem for Inter and for many other clubs too, there is a problem of infrastructure in Italy.”