Inter Milan president Beppe Marotta insists the Serie A champions are on the right path under American investment fund Oaktree.

During a comprehensive interview with Sports Talk Industry via FCInterNews, Marotta addressed the San Siro dilemma.

“I have not concretely followed the stadium issue; Antonello has dealt with it for many years.

“As president, I cannot back down, and I share Scaroni’s words.

“Today, the stadium represents an important aspect for enhancing the sense of belonging to a club; it is the home of a society and a place for gathering.

“Football is a strong social phenomenon, and inside the stadium, there are tens of thousands of people; Inter and Milan average 70,000 people per match.”

Meanwhile, Marotta underlined the clubs’ plans for the San Siro.

“The goal is for the stadium not to be a cathedral in the desert used only once a week but a daily place to visit as well as a very important economic asset.

“Oaktree, like Elliott and RedBird, understands the importance of the stadium, and it is right to try to reach a conclusion.

“Italy is at the bottom for the quality of its structures; this is a priority and necessary need to ensure that every club can have continuity and provide fans with an environment they can fully feel is theirs.”

Inter Milan President Praises Club Surge Under Oaktree

“Today, there is much talk about sustainability,” Beppe Marotta said.

“It is normal for it to be so because football has evolved from a patronage model, which lasted until the ownerships of Moratti and Berlusconi, to foreign funds.

“For us, it is the reference model, and we are trying to implement it while remaining competitive because the sporting aspect drives everything else.

“Oaktree is supporting us; we have developed greater strength than in the past in terms of structures.

“We have specific roles and delegations, and I am very satisfied.

“Becoming president for me means touching the sky with a finger.

“I do it with the conviction of being able to bring great satisfaction to our fans.”

Beppe Marotta Urges Authorities to Aid Progress

Marotta also appealed to the political world, demanding ‘greater consideration.’

“There is little consideration from politics towards football.

“Football is a social phenomenon that sustains itself; we are major taxpayers to the state, contributing about a billion a year, while everyone thinks we receive contributions from the state.

“We pay all kinds of taxes, and we want legislators to facilitate our pursuit of sustainability.

“The patron presidents or, vulgarly called ‘rich fools,’ no longer exist.

“Now, there are companies that want to enter the world of football without going into default.

“We are not asking for contributions, just greater consideration.

“We want a more streamlined law for stadiums.

“The Dignity Decree has removed any sponsorship of betting, penalizing us, and the Growth Decree has been withdrawn, even though other work categories benefit from it.

“Minister Abodi is making an effort, but that’s not enough; we want greater consideration.

“I am not asking for more dialogue because there is a good relationship with the current government. But, perhaps there is a need for a framework law specifically for sports.

“Today, we are in a context of high conflict within the football world, emphasized by individualism.

“This conflict emerges in the media between the League and the Federation.

“But we need to work through politics to have different laws.


“The Federation only needs to protect us; the rest must be done with the institutions.”