Inter CEO Marotta takes over as club president

Inter Milan’s sporting CEO Giuseppe Marotta was appointed the Serie A champions’ new president on Tuesday following the recent takeover by new US owners Oaktree.

Marotta, considered the architect of Inter’s recent return to football’s top table, has replaced former president Steven Zhang following a shareholders’ meeting in Milan in which a new board was also appointed.

“I would like to thank Oaktree for the trust they have shown in giving me this opportunity to work alongside them and the board,” said Marotta in a statement.

Oaktree took control of Inter last month, days after the club were officially crowned kings of Italy for the 20th time, when previous owners Suning failed to repay a three-year loan which matured at 395 million euros ($428 million).

The US investment fund appointed six of its people to the Inter board alongside Marotta, who keeps the role as sporting CEO for which he was hired by Chinese conglomerate Suning and Zhang in 2018.

Corporate CEO Alessandro Antonello has maintained his position on the board along with two other “independent directors” kept on from the Suning era.

Since Marotta’s arrival Inter have won two Serie A titles, two Italian Cups, three Italian Super Cups and reached the final of both the Champions League and Europa League.

The 67-year-old was previously CEO at Juventus for a trophy-laden eight years.

New stadium project

Oaktree, who manage $192 billion of assets, have repeatedly said that that they want operational and financial stability for Inter whose accounts are heading in the right direction after years of heavy losses exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

That means keeping on Marotta and Antonello and also coach Simone Inzaghi, whose Inter team secured the Serie A title with five matches to spare by winning a thrilling derby with local rivals AC Milan.

Inzaghi is expected to sign a contract extension until 2027 while new deals for captain Lautaro Martinez and Italy midfielder Nicolo Barella are also being discussed.

“We have great confidence in the club’s management team, and today’s appointments fully confirm this,” said Alejandro Cano, Oaktree’s managing director for Europe and new Inter board member.

Inter are also working on a new stadium project in Milan suburb Rozzano, which Antonello has said is the club’s priority despite talks with AC Milan and Milan city council over potentially taking possession of a renovated version of the current San Siro.

Italian construction group WeBuild is working on a feasibility study for a renovation to be finished this month which the city of Milan hopes can convince its two world famous football clubs to stay within its borders.

Mayor of Milan Giuseppe Sala has repeatedly expressed worry about what will happen to the San Siro if both teams leave, with AC Milan having bought land in suburb San Donato Milanese for their own stadium project.