Today marks the day at Inter when 5 years of Erick Thohir’s reign comes to an end and he is replaced by Steven Zhang, the son of Suning supremo Zhang Jindong.
The Indonesian businessman will say goodbye and will probably sell his 31% stake at the club to the Zhang family. In addition to that, most probably Steven Zhang will be named the new number one on Inter’s board of directors, thereby making him the youngest President in the history of Inter with only 26 years old.
Milano based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport explains what will happen today: “The shareholders meeting today will ratify both the appointment of Zhang Jindong’s son as well as approve Inter’s financial statement per June 30th, with “only” €18 million in losses. This means Inter’s future seems bright far away from Financial Fair Play restrictions.”
“Some of the nine names of the board will be replaced and in the horizon a special name is starting to appear, that of ex-Juventus executive Beppe Marotta, part of many rumors as of last week. The feeling that Marotta will sign for Inter is becoming more and more likely, although he still has to reach an agreement with the Agnelli family. As a general manager at Juventus he is indefinitely tied to the club and it is in everybody’s interest that he leaves on good terms with Juventus. Also for this reason, the expectations are modest although rumors of a three-year contract already has started to circulate” Gazzetta continues.
“There are still some things that need to be addressed, although a first contact in English already has been made defining a future collaboration roughly. The Zhang family like the idea of Marotta helping Steven Zhang in shaping his leadership qualities, and Steven is thinking about how he should divide the responsibilities among his board members, what seems clear is that Alessandro Antonello and Giovanni Gardini will continue their work as Inter board members. Another “untouchable” person at Inter is Sporting Director Piero Ausilio, especially after the excellent work this season. Will it be difficult working side-by-side to Marotta? Of course his past work has left its marks, but the general idea is to create ideas in order to make the club grow, both in revenues as well as in results” the Gazzetta conclude.
