Inter Shareholders' Meeting, Giuseppe Marotta speech

Good morning and welcome from my side too to the shareholders’ meeting which, as ever, summarises the previous football season and provides an overview of the ongoing campaign.

2023/23 SEASON: RESULTS

The 2022/23 season will live long in the memory of all of us thanks to our incredible European run which culminated in the Champions League final in Istanbul, the sixth final appearance in the club’s history and a milestone 13 years in the making.

The inevitable disappointment over the result in the final did not however dent the pride and enthusiasm of our incredible supporters, who spurred us on all season towards the most prestigious stage in world football and who still to this day chant the song that accompanied us throughout the journey right up until the evening of 10 June.

That means we will never forget the great European nights we experienced together, the feats we achieved in some of the sport’s most iconic grounds, the passion and excitement of our great Inter family, which comes together in Milan, in Italy and throughout the world: the trip to the Camp Nou, when we had Barcelona on the ropes and booked our place in the last 16, the pulsating drama of the final minutes at the Estadio do Dragao, at the end of two hard-fought matches against Porto and the memorable win at Benfica’s Estadio da Luz. Then those two magical nights at San Siro, at the end of a seemingly endless week that allowed us to exact revenge, something Nerazzurri fans had been waiting 20 years for.

Last season we sealed Champions League qualification for the sixth year running, a competition in which we have proven that we can not only regularly participate but also playing a leading role.

Finally, we claimed more silverware: the Italian Super Cup in Riyadh, further evidence of our dominance over Milan, and the 9th Coppa Italia in the club’s history at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico.

YOUTH SECTOR AND INTER WOMEN

Inter’s Youth Sector once again proved to be a huge source of pride for the club, a state-of-the-art breeding ground where we can mould our youngsters into fine young men first and foremost and latterly footballers and it remains a strategic asset from a financial and footballing perspective.

Last season also saw excellent results, with standout performances from the Under-17s and Under-18s en route to the championship final and the Scudetto the club won in the Under-15 age group.

I would like to take the opportunity to once again thank Roberto Samaden, who after many years of outstanding work has embarked upon on a new chapter in his career and I also wish the best of luck to Massimo Tarantino, who joined the Nerazzurri family on 1 July in his role as Youth Sector Director.

Inter Women also continued on the path we have mapped out and they are playing a starring role.

In the 2022/23 season the first team, in their first season as professionals, finished fifth in Serie A and reached the semi-final of the Coppa Italia. The campaign also featured a series of significant personal accolades which we welcomed at the club and which bode very well for the future: Francesca Durante was named Serie A’s best goalkeeper, while Tabitha Chawinga received the award for best forward.

FOOTBALL’S POLITICAL LANDSCAPE AND INSTITUTIONAL TIES

On the institutional front, our club, well aware of the important role it holds in the Italian game and international game and in the knowledge that it represents millions of passionate supporters – is engaged in constant, constructive dialogue with the political and footballing institutions. Our commitment to grow the game in several key areas is ongoing, namely: keeping labour costs down to enable a reliable system of tax deferral, the rebalancing of domestic and international fixture lists to safeguard clubs and their players, a greater focus on developing projects in the community which aim to encourage young generations to play football and which require specific infrastructure and a rethink when it comes to the importance of sport’s role within society and the education system.

We must consolidate a consistent, targeted strategy to increase the appeal of our Serie A which continues to be penalised when compared to the main leagues around the world in terms of revenue for television rights. With this in mind, if on the one hand we are naturally concerned about the huge sums of money coming in from Saudi Arabia to lure away the best talent from our league, on the other we are also pragmatic enough to realise that we these sums can become crucial sources of income that we can reinvest in the market to build our teams.

Italy being appointed co-hosts, along with Turkey, of the 2032 European Championship is an excellent sign for the game in this country and I would like to once again congratulate the Italian FA and its president Gabriele Gravina. We are sure that this major event will prove to be a huge opportunity to advance the game and Italy as a whole.

As one of Italy’s leading clubs – we feel a great responsibility when it comes to helping to re-establish the Italian game. We are very committed to working alongside the FIGC to develop our academies, a crucial undertaking in order to get the best out of our young talent and an essential asset for clubs when it comes to growing their brand, as well as once again developing future stars domestically who can in turn benefit the national team. It brings me great pleasure, and proves our commitment in this area, to remind you that Inter currently provides more players to the Italy senior setup than anyone else, with as many as six players called up in the most recent squad.

2023/24 SEASON: TARGETS

Inter began this season with the self-belief befitting of Champions League finalists, pride at having begun to consistently win silverware and the aim of maintaining that winning tradition.

The team has been built around our brilliant head coach Simone Inzaghi, who I would like to once again congratulate on the results and trophies he has claimed over the last two seasons with us and our glorious European campaign. Simone has proven that he can build a united team and he has produced a modern, attacking brand of football. His recent contract renewal is the reward for his hard work and shows the faith the club have in him.

We completed a number of significant deals both in terms of incoming and outgoing transfers in the recent window: I would like thank our sporting director Piero Ausilio and his assistant Dario Baccin for yet more excellent work.

We have provided the head coach with a comprehensive and highly competitive squad, all while meeting the financial needs of reducing labour costs that underscore the club’s vision for ethical, sustainable growth and respecting the parameters of UEFA’s new settlement agreement.

I would like to finally thank president Steven Zhang and the ownership group, who have once again – as they always have throughout their time with the club – ensured the greatest possible financial support to keep Inter competitive at the highest level of both the Italian and European game.

The start of the season has been extremely positive: we are top of the table after nine games and in control of our Champions League group.

Our targets will not change. We want to keep winning and chase a dream finish to the season for our incredible fans come the end of the campaign in May.