Diego Godin is dreaming of taking Inter back to the Champions League final after joining the club this summer.

The Uruguay international arrived on a free transfer from Atletico Madrid and began preseason training with the Nerazzurri last week.

Godin gave his first interview as an Inter player to Gazzetta dello Sport on Saturday, and he is setting the bar high for his time in Italy.

“It was explained to me during negotiations that Inter’s objective is to win things,” he said.

“I know what it takes to reach the Champions League final and it’s very difficult, but getting there again with Inter is a dream I have present in my mind.”

Antonio Conte is determined to end Juventus’ dominance in Serie A this season and Godin backed his new coach’s ambitions.

The defender also explained what’s required to stop Cristiano Ronaldo, having come up against him numerous times in Spain.

“We’ll need hard work and ambition to beat Juventus and I don’t know if we can do it this year, but I can guarantee we’ll try,” he assured.

“If we want to challenge them we have to understand it won’t be enough just to do well in the head-to-head matches. The games against Juve are no more important than all the other games.

“What matters when you’re marking Ronaldo is not your technique but your mind, your concentration. You can’t loosen up for one second in those 90 minutes because that’s all he needs to score.”

Juve were one of a number of clubs to have made Godin an offer in previous years, but the Bianconeri could not prize him away from Madrid.

Manchester United and Manchester City also made approaches, but instead it was Inter who eventually won him over.

“Inter were the first club to make a move for me this year and they did so with much more conviction than other clubs,” Godin explained.

“They showed me their plans for the future and they’re ambitious, like me. I liked the idea of being part of these plans and helping them come to fruition.

“It was different this time because my contract was expiring, but I can tell you that no club convinced me quite like Inter did.”

Godin admitted Conte reminded him a lot of his former coach Diego Simeone, before revealing he had spoken to Cholo at length before coming to Inter.

“They both live and breath football with the same passion, they have close attention to detail and they get the best out of the players they’re coaching,” he continued.

“Conte in particular seems like a very practical coach. He knows what he wants and gets straight to the point, and that’s ideal for a player.

“Simeone told me Inter were the biggest club he’d ever known, with passionate supporters.”

Godin also had words of praise for his new defensive team-mates, insisting he could not turn up and immediately expect to be their leader.

“I need to enter the team slowly with respect for the others,” he concluded.

“I don’t like imposing myself on anyone. It will just happen bit by bit if my teammates ask for it.

“It’s extremely important everyone feels important in their own role, regardless of how much they play. That’s decisive when you have so many games to play in a season.

“I saw a lot of matches from Milan Skriniar and Stefan de Vrij last season. They’re spectacular defenders, but I think that of Danilo D’Ambrosio as well.

“It’s me who will have to adapt to the team. When you play in my position it’s crucial to have empathy with your fellow defenders.”