Saturday, October 9, 2021 at 3:55 PM• Last update: 16:01

Giuseppe Marotta, Internazionale’s general manager, does not see Erling Braut Haaland making a transfer from Borussia Dortmund to Serie A in the coming years. The director missed the chance to take over the Norwegian goalscoring machine from Molde FK while he was working for Juventus, but currently does not consider any Italian club capable of signing Haaland.

Marotta worked as the general manager of Juventus between 2010 and 2018. “I regret many things, but certainly not attracting Haaland. At the time, we were able to take him over from Molde for two to three million euros,” the director stated during the La Gazzetta dello Sport’s Festival Dello Sport in Trento. “In such cases, you have to go above your budget when you are told that he is a talent that needs to be contracted.”

Haaland is now scoring continuously for Borussia Dortmund. In 67 matches, the Norwegian was good for 68 goals and 19 assists. Marotta therefore does not believe that a transfer from the striker to Italy is realistic any longer. “Haaland is now one of the best strikers in Europe. Can he come to Italy? Absolutely not. There is a huge gap between Serie A and the Premier League or LaLiga. As Serie A, we are no longer a final destination, but a transition competition.”

The Inter general manager confirms that he had a striking deal in mind in 2019. Dybala had to walk the road to Milan in exchange for Mauro Icardi. “I wanted to bring Paulo to Inter, but he stayed and will now extend his contract with Juventus.” The Juventus attacker’s contract expires in June 2022, but according to Italian media it will be announced shortly that the Argentinian will sign with the Italian record champion until 2025 or 2026. Icardi eventually left for Paris Saint-Germain on a rental basis and was released in the summer. of 2020 definitively taken over by the French superpower.

Inter was forced to sell Romelu Lukaku and Achraf Hakimi for millions last summer. The departure of the Belgian striker also came as a surprise for Marotta. “I know from experience that you always have to be ready for unexpected events. Lukaku suddenly said he wanted to go back to Chelsea. In the end, you can only accept such a wish from a player.”