Inter Is Chasing A New Champions League Record As Oaktree's Grand Plan Is Revealed

Written By Onyeka Daniel

It has been an interesting journey for Italian giants, Inter Milan this season in Europe as they managed to put the disappointment of 2023 behind them to reach another European final. While they faced Manchester City the last time, it will be a different opponent this year.

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Earlier today, the Nerazzurri and Paris Saint-Germain were pictured arriving in Munich for the final of this season’s Champions League at the Allianz Arena, the home ground of Bayern Munich with the chance to succeed Real Madrid as the champions of Europe up for grabs.

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For the Nerazzurri, after missing out on the Serie A title race by just one point, this is their only chance of lifting a trophy this season and there is another record on the line for them when they take to the field tomorrow apart from lifting the trophy they last won 15 years ago.

They will break their club record for goals scored in the UCL if they find the back of the net against PSG in the final, according to Gazzetta dello Sport. Against Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals, they conceded three goals but scored four to progress to the next round.

Then against Barcelona, Inter prevailed by a remarkable 7-6 scoreline on aggregate after extra time. Hence, they’ve scored two or more goals in every one of their UCL knockout matches so far and the total number of goals that they’ve scored since the start of the competition is 26.

That is the most that Inter have ever scored in a single Champions League season, which they also did during the 2002-03 season. Therefore, Inter have already equalled their own club record. However, history and records also awaits them if they’re to get on the scoresheet tomorrow.

They will break it and set a new record outright with 27 goals at least. In a related development, the club President, Beppe Marotta has confirmed that they intend to focus more on investing in young players under Simone Inzaghi going forward.

The former Juventus director explained how the model has changed while speaking to The Athletic in an interview ahead of the final. It Is now a little over a year ago since Oaktree Capital took over as owners .The North American fund arrived after previous owners Suning defaulted on a large loan.

Oaktree have yet to make any big changes at Inter. On the contrary, they have focused on maintaining the structure already in place behind the scenes. The thinking has clearly been that if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it. The naming of Marotta as club President was one of the clearest signs of Oaktree’s ideas at Inter.

However, sooner or later, the Nerazzurri owners will have to make decisions about the future. Inter’s squad is rapidly aging. That is a consequence of the fact that over the last several years, the club have built around veteran players like Francesco Acerbi, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Yann Sommer.

Therefore, this summer – and the next few transfer windows after – will have to see Inter bolster their squad with a different profile of player. Inter have already completed deals for Petar Sucic and – soon – Luis Henrique two relatively young players to bolster the team.

Meanwhile, reports have linked Inter with young players like Ange-Yoan Bonny and Koni De Winter and Marotta further explained the new direction that the club will be facing “First of all, they’ve guaranteed us stability and financial security,” he explained.

“They’ve created a different model, to implement next season. We’ll invest in slightly younger profiles. They represent a real resource for us. Players with potential, who can be a resource for both the present and the future.” He continued while also giving his thoughts on Inzaghi.

The 49-year-old has guided Inter to their second Champions League final in just three years. “He’s a good coach,” said the Inter President. “He finds the right motivation for the team. He doesn’t create excessive tension. The team plays a modern style of football,” Marotta went on.

“They try to score more goals, rather than just defending. This is a style of football that the fans appreciate, and find entertaining to watch,” he said. He further revealed the difference between English Premier league clubs and their Italian counterparts.

One challenge for Inter and all Italian clubs will be to raise revenue in the coming years, and according to Marotta, there are two ways to do so. “In 20 years, the Premier League has tripled its revenues compared to us,” he explained.

“What Italy lacks most of all is modern stadiums that can generate higher matchday revenues. That is something that could double our income. We took in €80million (this season), and with a new stadium, we think we can double that. Compared to the rest of Europe, this is our biggest handicap.”

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“We are last in terms of investment in stadium facilities and infrastructure. Another important factor is trying to optimise TV rights sales. Not so much from domestic rights, but foreign rights. Compared to the Premier League, the ratio is 1 to 10.” He concluded.

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