Inter striker Lautaro Martinez has revealed that he is set to extend his contract with the Nerazzurri after previously coming close to joining Spanish club Barcelona.
The Argentina international netted twice in last weekend’s 3-0 win over AC Milan as Inter moved four points clear at the top of Serie A and declared that lengthy contract negotiations were almost at a positive conclusion.
“It’s true, we were in talks with Barcelona and following that path, I can’t say how close I was to that club,” Martinez claimed in an interview published in today’s newspaper edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“But I was clear with [coach Antonio] Conte. I told him, “my head is here, it’s a promise that I will remain committed.” That is in the past now though and I will renew with Inter. I don’t know when the official announcement will be, but in the meantime I’ll continue.
“I see my future here and would like to remain in Milan for a long time. I like everything about the city: the food, the relationship with the fans, the team, I only have positive feelings.”
Following the victory over the Rossoneri last time out, Inter moved a step closer to a first Scudetto since 2010, but Martinez insisted that it was a to label he would like to avoid, before touching on crucial victories over Lazio and Juventus since the turn of the year.
“Favourites is not a word that I like. Of course, being top is a great feeling, especially with a wider gap on second. It’s nice because it’s the result of hard work with the coach. I’m thinking only of Inter in the title race though, nobody else. The goals last week were up there with my most important, as they coincided with the birth of my daughter.
“The wins over Milan, Lazio and Juventus show that we have been with Conte for two seasons and we are a different team now, more compact and with each player ready to fight for his teammates as well as himself.
“We were also eliminated from the Champions League and Europe, unlike last year. There was a deal made between us and the coach, that because of the pain of being eliminated we would focus all our attention on the Scudetto. All the more reason, after being knocked out of the Coppa Italia.”
The Argentina international detailed his development under Conte, as well as his devastating strike partnership with Romelu Lukaku.
“Off the ball, I learned to recognise situations and read the game better, paying attention more. But the most important change under Conte is my mentality. One day he spoke to me in his office for a while, about everything. From that moment, my career changed.
“[Lukaku] is very similar to me in that we had difficult childhoods and had to fight for everything. We always knew we would have to do more than the others to achieve things, and this is brought to the pitch. I hope to one day reach his level as one of the top strikers in Europe. I’ll only do this by working hard.”
Martinez has also struck up a strong relationship with wing-back Achraf Hakimi, and recalled the moment he first met the summer signing on international duty.
“It was during Argentina vs Morocco, I heard someone call my name in Spanish and it was him. We’d never spoken before, but he told me he knew [ex-Inter midfielder] Borja Valero. Then we met again during Inter vs Borussia Dortmund. We started talking and he always asked me about Inter, telling me he’d liked to play for us, until it happened,” Martinez concluded.
