Inter vice president Javier Zanetti admits the Nerazzurri could not afford Leo Messi and confirms ‘many clubs’ are interested in Lautaro Martinez.
Messi left Barcelona in the summer, joining PSG as a free agent.
“Nobody thought Messi could leave Barcelona in the summer,” Zanetti said in an interview with Libero as quoted by FCInternews.
“We were in the middle of the COVID pandemic and we could not afford such a huge investment because it would have put the future of the club in danger.”
Messi, 34, signed a contract until 2023 with the Ligue 1 giants with an option to extend his stay at the club for one more season.
The Nerazzurri are on top of the Serie A table and have recently extended with their stars Alessandro Bastoni, Nicolò Barella and Zanetti’s compatriot Lautaro Martinez.
Despite his contract extension, Zanetti admits that many clubs are still monitoring the Argentinean striker who has scored six goals in the last five Serie A games.
“It’s not easy to adapt to Serie A and Lautaro is now a point of reference for Inter and the national team,” Zanetti said.
“He is a great player and like every great player, many top clubs want to sign him.
“Lauti is very happy here, so I am not worried about his future, he feels important and he proves it in every game.”
Lautaro may not be the only Argentinean striker at the Pinetina as Inter are among the clubs interested in signing River Plate starlet Julian Alvarez.
Their director Dario Baccin flew to Argentina last month to scout the 21-year-old who has also attracted the interest of Milan, Juventus and Barcelona.
“There are many clubs interested in signing him and it’s normal because he is having a great season,” Zanetti said.
“It’s not easy to play for River and do what he is doing. However, Inter are complete in every department. Right now, there are only rumours.”
#Zanetti: "#Messi vicino all'#Inter? Non potevamo permetterci un investimento così importante, avrebbe messo a rischio il futuro del club" 👇👇👇https://t.co/MPXfuzCXzl
— FcInterNews.it (@FcInterNewsit) December 20, 2021
They couldn’t afford Hakimi either, but it didn’t stop them to defraud series A for the umpteenth time…
👍 sure zambrotta…. 🤣 🤣
yes rubentus cant afford ronaldo either and cant build team around him. and blaming him for their downfall while rubentus make wrong transfer strategy with agnelli and paratici.
keep being salty. agnelli the one who give inter marotta for free. so rubentus fans need blame themselves rather keep being salty.
They never paid for Hakimi, and when Real were about to sue, they quickly sold him to PSG. I’m not salty, Milan fans should be salty cause they were defrauded the serie A title.
@Zambrotta… last time I checked Juve was under investigation, so good luck with that. Nice salt though.
@I MISS JUVE IN SERIE B Salty for what? 9 Serie A titles in a row? the current score is 9 – 1. Don’t flatter yourself that any Juventini is salty at inter. And under investigation, Inter did the same things. Or are you really naive enough to think that an almost bankrupt club like Standard de Liege paid 12 million for Vanheusden, and then Inter paid the 16 million for a guy who ruptured his knee ligaments twice in a year?
@Zambrotta somehow I’m happy RuBe signed Ronaldo because the money went to his pocket rather than refs.. Proving they can’t win without bribing officials and also proving that 9 scudetto are irrelevant achievement to what really happened on the pitch.. You can have as many scudetto as you want, but people outside small minded RuBentinos really don’t care while Inter and Milan fans can kiss 10 UCL trophies between them by playing real football..
@Zambrotta:
Vanheusden was a gentleman`s agreement, everything in that transfer is legal. Standard pocketed a very nice interest rate for that “LOAN”, so who can blame Inter for trusting Vanheusden on the long run? He has the whole future ahead of him, I`m happy that he is learning his trade in Serie A.
In what world is 30 years old Pjanic worth €60m? Current transfer market value is €18m. You should care about your filthy club`s issues! History proven over time that Rubentus Torino cheat the rules.
PS: VINCERE SENZA RUBARE
Inter are interested in an Argentine?
@ Football Italia: Seriously, how is this even news ? Of course they are interested in an Argentine. This is what they do best.
@FABIO PARATICI: Marotta is the guy that assembled the only Inter team to ever finish last in the Champions League group stage right ?? Don’t worry, Inter management will never join Juve because At Inter, even when you give 26 mill + Zaniolo for a 30 year old drunk you get a Contract extension !!!