Former Inter President Massimo Moratti has revealed that he rejected the opportunity to bring in disgraced ex-Juventus Sporting Director Luciano Moggi.
Moggi was embroiled in the Calciopoli scandal that rocked Italian football in 2006, resulting in Juventus being stripped of two Serie A titles and being demoted to Serie B, whilst his involvement in the match-fixing scandal saw him banned from football for life.
In an interview published in today’s newspaper edition of Corriere della Sera, former Nerazzurri President Moratti admitted that Moggi had looked for employment at Inter but he would never have stood a chance to be taken on.
“It is true that Moggi wanted to come to Inter, and I never explicitly told him I didn’t want him, but I would never have taken him,” Moratti declared.
“Serie A was manipulated and we were the victims,Juve had to win, and if Juve really didn’t win it was Milan’s turn.
“It was a shame, because the greatest form of dishonesty is to cheat people’s emotions.
“Giacinto Facchetti was in charge, a splendid man.
“Once I said to him: “Giacinto, is it possible that there is not a referee, just one, willing to lend a hand to us, instead of them?”
“He told me, “you can’t ask me such things.””
As part of the ruling in the aftermath of Calciopoli, the 2005 Serie A title was declared void whilst the 2006 Scudetto was stripped from Juventus and handed to Inter, in a move that Moratti felt was just.
“It was absolutely fair, and I know that the Juventus players were angry and this leads me to claim it with greater conviction.
“That title was the minimum compensation for the thefts we suffered, we deserve much more.”
Moratti sold his majority stake to Erick Thohir in 2016, before total control of the club was sold to Suning in 2019, and the former President felt that whilst the Zhang family had the best intentions for the Nerazzurri, it was difficult to maintain.
“The Zhangs, both father and son, have always seemed to me to be in good faith and at first they asked me to talk to the players, to motivate them.
“But today it is impossible to last long in football, every year the losses double, from €50 million, to €100m, to €150m.
“Maybe an American fund will arrive, but beware of speculation.
“Football is not built to make money and the Americans would like to turn it into entertainment, show-business. I don’t know if it will ever be possible in Italy.”
Inter are in discussions to move away from the Stadio San Siro with AC Milan, and secure a new stadium, but Moratti was not sold on the idea.
“It doesn’t convince me and knocking down the San Siro would be a crime.
“It is said that it’s so the clubs can earn €30m a year, but what is that compared to history?
“You will see that in the end no one will dare to demolish our temple,” he concluded.
