Inter Milan CEO Beppe Marotta says that the club’s owners Suning have almost spent one billion euros since acquiring.
The 66-year-old credits the Chinese group for salvaging the club, and to a larger extent Italian football, when they bought its majority shares back in 2016.
He also praises Inter president Steven Suning, describing him as a serene presence at the club.
Marotta acknowledges how the Nerazzurri tend to beat the toughest opponents but drop points against lowly opposition.
“With Inter, we need a chamomile tea before the matches. We win against the big teams and lose with the small ones,” joked the CEO while appearing as a guest on the stage of the “Golden Boy” ceremony via FcInterNews.
“At Inter, it was the first time I found myself working with foreign owners. Luckily they arrived, otherwise, who knows where our football would have ended up.
“Our Chinese owners have made huge investments, splashing out almost a billion euros. The ownership guarantees us a management in which we can do well by setting up competitive teams despite the currently low investments.
“The great thing about having Chinese ownership is that it lets us work with peace of mind.
“Steven Zhang is a young president. Yet, he is very serene and does not convey pressure.
“In Italy, there is no culture of defeat. As soon as you lose a match, the ultras and media are chastising you. It’s significantly different abroad.
“Italians treat defeat like a tragedy. We belittle our problems when we win and enlarge them when we lose.
Inter Milan CEO Beppe Marotta Credits Suning For Their Fundamental Role In Saving Italian Football
“You have to know how to win and know how to manage the post-victory period which is the most difficult thing to do, because new dynamics take over, such as satisfaction.
“This is very dangerous because it makes you train with less intensity or perhaps approach certain matches with more superficiality.”
Before joining Inter in 2018, Marotta was the architect who built the Juventus squad that dominated Italian football for nine seasons.
The former Bianconeri executive identifies Paul Pogba’s sale to Manchester United as his toughest operation on a personal level.
“My most difficult operation? Pogba’s transfer to Manchester United. I was really proud of my entire team at Juventus, the so-called invisible team which is the corporate one compared to the visible that you see on the pitch.
“We had signed Pogba as a free agent and dealing with Mino Raiola was not easy. We spent three days locked in the hotel negotiating with the United management in Manchester to find an agreement.”
