Inter Milan CEO Beppe Marotta has promised that a contract extension for captain Lautaro Martinez will come before the season’s end.
The Nerazzurri executive spoke to Italian broadcaster DAZN, via FCInterNews, ahead of this evening’s Serie A match against Napoli.
Reports indicate that Inter and Martinez have been in contract negotiations for several months now.
However, the 26-year-old, who is the Nerazzurri’s captain, has not yet signed a new deal.
This could lead to one or two worries from an Inter perspective. After all, Martinez is a key player to this Inter team in every respect.
And if the Nerazzurri were to tie their captain down on a new long-term deal, there could start to be rumours about the player’s future.
There is no shortage of interest in Martinez’s signature from some of Europe’s elite.
However, the atmosphere around the talks has always been calm. Even as the negotiations have hit a bit of a roadblock in the form of distance between Inter’s offer and Martinez’s demands.
That is because the Argentine international has always made clear that his priority is to stay at Inter.
And the Nerazzurri’s CEO Marotta has given further reason for confidence.
Inter CEO Marotta Confirms Lautaro Martinez Extension “By End Of Season”
As far as the timeline for talks with Martinez and his representatives, Marotta emphasized that for the now the focus is on the pitch and on securing the Serie A title.
“Right now we’re focused on achieving something extraordinary,” the Inter CEO said.
“As far as the talks with Lautaro, we’ll reach a conclusion before the end of the season,” he went on.
“At the moment, we’ve dedicated ourselves to other commitments.”
“That’s the reason why the talks have slowed down,” Marotta explained.
“But we have a brilliant relationship with his agent. And there can’t possibly be any conclusion to the talks other than a new contract.”
Meanwhile, Marotta also gave his thoughts on the criticism that the team has received after they were dumped out of the Champions League by Atletico Madrid.
“When you’re a big club, you have to live with these fierce criticisms,” the Nerazzurri executive admitted.
“But you also have to be aware of the path that we’re on, which is taking us through a brilliant season.”
“The Italian league is always won by the strongest team overall,” Marotta opined.
“European knockout competitions are not always won by the strongest teams,” he went on.
“There are many components,” Marotta said of the Champions League. “From the luck of the draw, to injuries.”
“With the old [away goals] rule, we would have went over,” the Inter CEO observed.
“We made errors. But we have to learn from them in the future.”
