The owner of Milan, Gerry Cardinale, set himself up for criticism from Inter’s president, Beppe Marotta. Cardinale’s rash statement—“Inter is an example of unintelligent club management,” supported by the claim that the Zhang family bankrupted themselves in winning the Scudetto with the Nerazzurri—backfired like a boomerang. Marotta didn’t miss the chance to refute Cardinale with solid numbers and give him a lesson in conduct and media presence. The Inter president emphasized that over the last four years, Inter reduced its losses from 246 million euros to 36 million while winning two Scudettos and playing in the finals of the Champions League and Europa League. After Leao, Fonseca is not happy with TheoMoreover, Inter has a significantly better team than Milan, as evidenced by an 11-point gap in the standings, which could extend to 14 points if they win their match against Fiorentina.“Cardinale’s words are inappropriate, and his conclusions undermine the history and prestige of our club. In Milan, only one club has two stars above its badge,” Marotta responded to Cardinale. It’s worth clarifying that Inter was never at risk of bankruptcy, as its fate never depended on the previous Chinese owners. Additionally, in the last three years, Oaktree has acted as a lender with guarantees tied to the majority shares of the club. The Zhang family found themselves in a challenging situation due to several factors: the COVID-19 pandemic, business ties with Jack Ma’s companies and Evergrande, which clashed with Beijing’s political leadership, the communist government’s decision to ban investments in sectors unrelated to geopolitical goals, and a few poor business decisions by the Zhang family. Lautaro rates Inzaghi over ConteThis created an environment where Inter had to rely on self-financing. Marotta and his team not only managed to shield the club from the negative effects of the perfect storm that hit its former Chinese owners but also built a strong team capable of winning two league titles in four years and drastically reducing debts. Instead of criticizing Inter, Cardinale should have used the city rival as an example that it’s possible to balance finances, win trophies, and maintain a highly competitive team for both Serie A and the Champions League. While it’s true that Milan has cleaned up its finances better than Inter, it hasn’t come close to achieving the results that the Nerazzurri have over the past four years. Moreover, Inter’s current squad is a serious contender for both the Scudetto and the Champions League, while Milan will need to fight to secure a spot in the most prestigious club competition.##NAJAVA_MECA_8593721##Fate also had it that in the last game, Marcus Thuram scored in his fourth consecutive Serie A match for the first time in his career. The French center-forward is a symbol of Inter’s resurgence without massive financial investments in building a powerful roster. Thuram, like many Inter players (De Vrij, Çalhanoğlu, Zielinski, Mkhitaryan, Taremi), joined the club on a free transfer. Furthermore, Marcus was unwavering in his desire to join Inter despite receiving more lucrative offers from PSG, Milan, and other European clubs. This was thanks to Piero Ausilio, who had established a close and personal connection with Thuram over two years before his arrival at Inter. When the time came to decide, Thuram had no doubt about where to continue his career. The only blemish in Inter’s triumphant end to 2024 is Lautaro Martínez. The Argentine hasn’t scored a goal since November 3, during a match against Venezia at San Siro. However, this can be viewed differently: despite Martínez scoring only five goals in Serie A, Inter, along with Atalanta, has the most effective attack in the league, averaging 2.6 goals per game (even with one game less than Atalanta).
