Former Inter sporting director Marco Branca discussed the restart of football, the transfer of Mauro Icardi to Paris Saint-Germain and other topics in an interview with Italian radio broadcaster Radio Punto Nuovo earlier today.
“These are decisions taken at a historic moment. I signed him from Sampdoria at €13 million plus 2 million in add-ons. I saw it as a natural consequence of what was done in the season prior.”
He then discussed the possible transfers of Lautaro Martinez to Barcelona and Edinson Cavani to Inter.
“The will of the main player, Lautaro, matters. If he wants to stay, I’d prefer that from a sporting point of view, but it’s never good to keep a player who doesn’t want to stay. Cavani has always done his duty well, even if he is no longer 20 years old, these are assessments that one must make. Until I see the signature, I don’t believe in any deal.”
The 55-year-old Italian spoke about the restart of football being played behind closed doors.
“I agree, it’s real football anyway. When there are league titles on the line, professionalism to defend, positions on the table, things to do, you have to move forward.”
Branca commented on the busy schedule that will see games played every three days.
“It’s not nice at all, it’s a lot of games and it’s not easy, especially after a long stop like this. There could be extra injuries, but it’s a strange situation for everybody. When you have more matches close together, it’s useful to keep your concentration high compared to the others.”
Finally, Branca discussed whether Primavera players could see more usage in the remaining games of the season, in order to ensure that no first team players suffer serious injuries from over-playing.
“I’m of the opinion that many times, when things seem disadvantageous, they’re not really disadvantageous. Alibis and excuses have never been part of my philosophy, I would only have dealt with these games with commitment. I believe that at this moment in history, politically and practically, it’s important to think about resuming. We’ll have the month of June to understand how things will go from a clinical point of view, but I think it’s serious to try to resume. You have to be intelligent in knowing how to evaluate everything that happens along the way.”
Inter and PSG reached a deal for Icardi’s stay in Paris that will see the French club pay €50 million plus €8 million in add-ons. The Nerazzurri are then planning to reinvest these funds into the squad, looking to close the gap with Juventus next season and fight for the league title.
