Beppe Marotta denied trying to block Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Juventus, but expected his departure to be “different” and defended his move to Inter.
The former Bianconeri director general was surprisingly let go by the Turin giants and a few months later took on the role of CEO at their bitter rivals.
This prompted Pavel Nedved to claim Marotta was “never a Juventino” even during his years with the Old Lady.
Beppe Marotta denied trying to block Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Juventus, but expected his departure to be “different” and defended his move to Inter.
The former Bianconeri director general was surprisingly let go by the Turin giants and a few months later took on the role of CEO at their bitter rivals.
This prompted Pavel Nedved to claim Marotta was “never a Juventino” even during his years with the Old Lady.
“I was born in Varese and if I am in football today, it’s because I support Varese,” replied Marotta during Il Foglio a San Siro event.
“Living close to the stadium in Varese, and acting as a mascot from the age of six, I fell in love with football. It is a profession for me.
“Pavel’s comment, considering he came to Juve from Lazio, was a spontaneous moment and we have had the opportunity since then to clear the air. You cannot expect a director of sport to be a passionate supporter of any one club. I cheer on Varese.”
There were reports of further tension within the Juventus camp, such as suggestions Marotta was against the purchase of Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid for over €100m.
“That is a false story. Clearly, as general manager, we didn’t have the means to sustain such a move. We presented Plan A and Plan B to President Andrea Agnelli, who with great intelligence said we could make it work. It was a show of courage from the investors and the decision was simply not up to me.
“I certainly didn’t oppose the transfer, either. I had some time to get to know him, Ronaldo is a great champion who sets the example for those around him.”
Inter have a tendency to go through Coaches and directors at an alarming rate, so is Marotta concerned he’ll be out the door tomorrow?
“I had expected my future to be different in Turin, then what happened, happened. As life is a wonderful challenge, joy is achieved by hitting targets. I have a target with Inter, which is to get the Nerazzurri winning again.
“If we haven’t been able to do that in recent years, evidently there were some problems to deal with. There have been three different owners, unlike the decades under the same family for Juventus.
“The club is very strong, though, and the Suning group are eager to reach new heights. That means not only in terms of the balance sheet, but also in results.”
Among the projects put forward by Suning is the idea of building a new stadium or restructuring San Siro.
“The stadium is a container of emotions. Everyone talks about structures, but football is about putting on a show,” continued Marotta.
“The arena must feel as if it is a home. In Italy, we are struggling in our infrastructure not just with stadiums, but also training centres. We have the best quality players, Coaches, referees and directors, but the infrastructure is not up to scratch.”