Inter Milan CEO On Lautaro Martinez’s Future, Steven Zhang & Milan Skriniar Departure

Inter Milan CEO Beppe Marotta has opened up about the future of Lautaro Martinez, the departure of Milan Skriniar, and President Steven Zhang.

The Nerazzurri executive spoke to the Cronache di Spogliatoio, via FCInterNews.

There is rarely a dull moment behind the scenes at Inter.

That has certainly been the case in recent months.

In terms of situations with players, those of Lautaro Martinez and Milan Skriniar have both been hot topics.

And the two players have followed very different paths.

For Slovakian international Skriniar, the story with Inter ended, and not in positive circumstances.

Skriniar had the chance to become Inter captain this season. But the 28-year-old decided not to extend his contract with the Nerazzurri, and instead joined Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer.

Meanwhile, the player who did inherit the armband this summer is striker Martinez.

The Argentine now looks set to sign a contract extension.

Negotiations will still be necessary and nothing is ever certain in football – but all parties are projecting optimism regarding Martinez’s future with the Nerazzurri.

And then at the corporate level, there is constant speculation about the future of owners Suning and President Steven Zhang.

Inter’s financial situation and Suning’s debt issues have raised the spectre of a sale to new owners.

Marotta On Lautaro, Skriniar & Zhang

Inter CEO Marotta first spoke about current Nerazzurri captain Martinez.

“Lautaro is first and foremost a very good footballer,” the veteran executive began.

“But he’s also a very good father.”

“He’s a player who holds great personal values,” Marotta beamed with praise for the Argentine World Cup winner.

“He loves Inter, as Inter loves him in return,” the CEO said. “That’s always a great thing to see.”

“He wants to stay, and we’re happy to keep hold of him,” Marotta left no doubt.

“Today he has already become a ‘bandiera’ [a symbol of the team] because he’s the captain.”

“If he has been given the armband, it’s because he has something a bit different about him compared to the other players,” Marotta said of Martinez.

On the other hand, Marotta gave his perspective on the difficult exit of Skriniar.

“There were some differences,” the executive reflected. “Some difficulties between he and Inter.”

“This led to the sense of belonging here and the friendly relationship between us,” he went on.

“Our paths diverged,” Marotta said. “He went to Paris, and we moved forward without him. And I would say we’ve done well.”

And the Inter CEO also gave his backing to club President Zhang.

“Zhang is young, a good President, ambitious,” he said. “He wants to be President of Inter.”