Former Inter president and owner Massimo Moratti has shared his belief that Inter’s title chances hinge on whether Lautaro Martinez remains with the club or not.
The highly rated 22-year-old striker has been heavily linked with a move to Barcelona ahead of the upcoming transfer window and Moratti, whose Inter won many Serie A titles and other silverware, believes a great striker would need brought in if the Argentine departs.
“Can Inter win the title next year? It will depend on whether Inter will lose a player like Lautaro Martinez or not. If they do, they will have to sign a great striker to win the title,” Moratti explained in an interview with Spanish radio station Cadena Ser Catalunya show ”Què t’hi Jugues’ earlier this afternoon.
He was then asked if a comparison can be made between Lautaro and former Inter striker Samuel Eto’o.
“They are two different players. I will always defend Eto’o because he won everything and because he behaved in a fantastic way with me. I knew he was very strong, but honestly, I didn’t think he would be so useful for the team.
“He changed Inter, gave the team strength and peace of mind. He contributed much more than I expected. Lautaro is an excellent striker who will do great things in his career. Now I think he will focus on Inter, he is a very serious guy.”
Moratti was then asked who the greatest striker to play for Inter was during his tenure in charge.
“Ronaldo is definitely the best striker we have ever had. Immediately after him there is Zlatan Ibrahimovic. We also had Adriano , a great player, he was very good. Inter have always had great strikers and obviously I can’t forget Diego Milito, who is the striker who has won the most in Inter history.”
Moratti purchased a majority stake in Inter in 1995 and was the club’s majority shareholder up until 2013. Following Erick Thohir’s takeover he maintained some of his shares and he sold the remainder of his shares as part of Suning’s takeover in 2016.
