Which Inter Milan superstar will leave? And why they must lose at least one to balance the books

The raucous celebrations that followed Inter Milan’s first Serie A title win in 11 years last summer had barely finished before all hell broke loose. In a drastic domino effect, the Nerazzurri lost three key men as coach Antonio Conte walked out, unhappy with the club’s cost-cutting plans, and Achraf Hakimi and Romelu Lukaku were sold to ensure those plans were realised. Ad/> Reinforcements were brought in on a budget.

Simone Inzaghi arrived on a far smaller salary than his predecessor, Edin Dzeko and Joaquin Correa filled the Lukaku-shaped gap for around a quarter of the price the Belgian was sold for, and just £12m of the £60m brought in from Hakimi’s sale was re-invested in his replacement, Denzel Dumfries. TransfersBale wants to stay in Madrid despite Getafe rumours denial6 HOURS AGO Inter’s financial cutback came after they reported a record loss of €246 million for 2020/21. The changes had an on-field impact, as Inter surrendered their league crown to rivals AC Milan.

A year later, the situation isn’t quite as alarming, but big-name sales are a possibility once again. A year of open stadiums, new sponsorship deals and lucrative player sales has improved the economic outlook, but Inter are still expected to post losses of €120m for 2021/22. The Milanese giants should now sign a settlement agreement with UEFA by the end of June, having recorded Financial Fair Play break-even deficits every year since 2018.