Legendary former Inter, Barcelona, and Real Madrid striker Ronaldo feels that the Nerazzurri are well-stocked at both ends of the pitch with Romelu Lukaku, Lautaro Martinez, and Milan Skriniar.
Speaking to Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport in an interview published in today’s print edition, the Brazilian gave his thoughts on the Serie A race which he feels is currently fairly even between Inter, AC Milan, and Juventus, and also praised the Nerazzurri’s squad.
There is still a month to go in the transfer window in which surprises could arrive which either give the top teams in Serie A a big boost or deal a blow to their title aspirations.
For now, though, the Nerazzurri have kept hold of Skriniar who is a key player at the back and had been linked with a move away, and strengthened at the other end of the pitch by bringing back Lukaku.
Ronaldo said of the title race that “Inter, Juventus, and Milan are my three favourites for the Scudetto. We’ll see who the favourites are at the end of the transfer window.”
He argued that the Nerazzurri are in contention “Because they could have won the Scudetto last year already, at a certain point it seemed as though they’d already won it.”
“Because Lukaku is back,” he continued, “someone who, particularly in Italy, can make the difference as we have seen. He and Lautaro can be an almost perfect pair, we’ve already seen this too. A lot of chemistry, many goals, the things that are good for a team.”
Of the Belgian, Ronaldo said that “He wanted to come back, and strongly so. He already seems like a sure thing for Inter. Now he has to find his best condition.”
“I don’t think Lukaku will want to imitate me,” he continued, “he knows he must be forgiven for his departure and that Inter needs the player who was able to push them on, physically or otherwise.”
Asked if he thinks that Inter would have won the Scudetto last season had they had Lukaku, Ronaldo replied that “I’m not a fortune teller, but he’s that type of player.”
“Inter lost out the Scudetto by losing the derby and mishandling the only two months of the season in which they struggled,” he said.
“It’s in those moments that you need courage, to win difficult games instead of drawing them,” he continued. “You need someone you can cling to, and Lukaku is certainly that type of player.”
Of Inter’s failed pursuit of Paulo Dybala, he said that “You can’t always get what you want in football, and maybe sometimes you want something but you have to set limits for yourslef.”
“Inter have problems at a financial level, as it seems most or all clubs do in Italy,” he went on. “It seems to me that Marotta and my friend Ausilio are already jumping through hoops, and doing so well.”
Of Skriniar, Ronaldo said that “If he stays, no one will be so concerned about the fact that Bremer went to Juve. But that’s what worries Inter fans, isn’t it?”
And returning to the Scudetto race, the Brazilian stated that “I think that whoever wins the Scudetto can never be written off as being out of the race to win it again.”
“At least at the beginning, Milan starts at least on par with Inter and Juve,” he argued, “so there are three favourites. And perhaps they are even further ahead than the rest of the pack than last season.”
