Former Inter President Massimo Moratti is ‘worried’ about the future of the club under Suning’s ownership, while Antonio Conte ‘lacked emotional attachment and the desire for a challenge.’
The Nerazzurri are forced to radically cut costs after financial problems, even with the loan from Oaktree Capital.
“I am worried, of course,” Moratti told Il Fatto Quotidiano newspaper.
“These gentlemen (Suning) arrived and spent a lot to build a great team. Something serious must’ve happened in China and they were forced to drop their activities abroad. Steven Zhang wants to keep it going, but for how long?”
There are attempts to create a conglomerate of fans who can buy Suning out, but Moratti doesn’t see it happening.
“There are many rich Inter fans, but getting them to put money in is another matter. I’ve seen initiatives like this in Germany and Spain, but the rules are different there. The figures needed to buy Inter would not be easy to achieve.
“The Super League would’ve only been a way out of trouble for those clubs who were in it. This has been talked about for years, so it’s nothing new, but the way it started and ended so badly means it’ll be much more difficult to try again in future.”
Moratti was unimpressed with the departure of coach Conte after winning the Scudetto, as he was not prepared to accept the cost-cutting exercises.
“Conte lacked emotional attachment to the club and also the desire for a challenge. He’s a professional, he did very well while he was here, but that was a very obvious lack of emotional attachment to Inter.”