Outgoing Inter president Erick Thohir claims that he is still a die-hard supporter of the Nerazzurri and has defended his three-year tenure as the club’s majority shareholder.

Thohir replaced Massimo Moratti as president after completing a takeover in November 2013, becoming the club’s majority shareholder in the process, but is now looking to leave Inter with reports on Sunday suggesting he will be succeeded by Steven Zhang as early as October.

However the Indonesian tycoon insists that he still possesses a strong emotional attachment to the club and says he is looking forward to watching Luciano Spalletti’s side open up their Serie A campaign against Sassuolo on Sunday evening.

“I have a sleepless night ahead of me,” he told LaPresse. “My Inter are making their debut against Sassuolo… I’m still the club’s president and I still have a 31% stake in Inter, but most importantly of all I’m still a passionate supporter.

“Whoever comes into my office sees that all I hang up in there are Inter shirts, starting with those of Bergomi and Zanetti, along with Philadelphia shirts, my NBA team.”

Despite remaining fond of the club, however, Thohir was quick to defend Inter’s underwhelming results on the pitch during his time in charge, reminding people that he had always looked to keep expectations low.

“Business is business. I never misled anyone when I bought the club off Moratti, I never promised that we’d win the Scudetto immediately.

“I gave myself five objectives when I arrived at Inter. The first was to build the infrastructures that the club deserved, from the training centre to a new stadium at San Siro. The second was to reorganise the club’s management – and indeed I appointed [Michael] Bolingbroke from Manchester United and [Alessandro] Antonello from Puma.

“The third was to put together a good team bit by bit, with the ultimate aim of signing star players. The fourth was to respect Financial Fair Play, which is very important. And the fifth was to qualify for the Europa League, with the aim of returning to the Champions League within five years.

“Ultimately we weren’t able to build a new stadium. It would have generated more business and helped to increase the club’s revenue, which is what enables you to keep pace with Europe’s top clubs. Look at Juventus, they were able to afford Cristiano Ronaldo…

“Anyway, it looks as if Suning have the same goal as I had. The stadium, that is…

“Why did I sell to Suning? Because a group arrived on the scene and offered to become majority shareholders, with ambitious aims. I retained my role as president, my seat at the stadium, the 31% stake in the club. Now it’s up to Suning to run the club.

“The mercato? I’m looking forward to seeing the new signings make their debuts but to be honest I’ve been busy with the Asian Games in the last few weeks [for which Thohir is head of the organising committee].”