Assemblea Azionisti Inter, l'intervento di Giuseppe Marotta

Hello everyone. I would also like to extend a warm welcome to all of you to this Shareholders’ Meeting.

Today, three years on from the last time, we finally meet again in person.

The last three years have been extremely tough, as we have had to face a global pandemic that has shaken up all our lives and the whole of humanity.

These last three years have put our daily habits to the test, along with the foundations underpinning what we believe in and our values, generating inevitable repercussions on the social fabric and balance across the political and economic spectrums in which we live and work.

In such a complicated context, sport once again, and football in particular, has played a key role for society, not just through its capacity to provide entertainment and comfort for millions of fans the world over, but also in conveying its most authentic values such as self-sacrifice, willpower, a sense of belonging and resilience.

At Inter, we strongly felt this responsibility and were fully committed to carrying out our duty to the full in order to send out the type of positive messages on and off the pitch that have always showcased the club’s unique values.

THE SUCCESS OF THE 2021/22 SEASON AND THE SUSTAINABILITY DRIVE

We have regained success in the last few years and kept that positive trend going. This fills us with pride and makes our sporting accomplishments even more glorious.

In summer 2021, after winning the Scudetto for the 19th time in the club’s history, in total agreement with the ownership, we focused on reinforcing our healthy management of the club based on a modern and more ethical vision.

There was a dual goal: to combine a policy for reducing costs and lowering the wage bill and keeping sporting competitivenessat the very highest level while respecting the club’s history and traditions.

This was certainly an onerous challenge that we approached together with unity, bravery, determination and a sense of belonging.

First of all, we obtained the maximum economic revenue possible from the transfer window, putting the club in a position of greater financial stability. The benefits of this are clear to see in the financial results which have been approved today in this Shareholders’ Meeting.

We then focused on building a squad that could keep competing at the very top. In order to do so, we chose a very good young coach who was already experienced and had tasted success, making him capable of carrying the team forward while being fully aligned with our vision. Simone Inzaghi accepted this new challenge with great enthusiasm, humility and also heaps of ambition.

Simone left his mark on Inter straight away in the shape of a modern and European brand of football underpinned by the winning mentality that Inter had rediscovered and that had allowed us to regain success after such a long barren spell.

I am here in front of you today to present two more trophies, both of which were won last season. Along with the 2021 Scudetto, these form a magnificent treblethat we are so proud of. The Italian Super Cup and Coppa Italia trophies immediately remind us of those two fantastic nights against Juventus and the unwavering joy that we all shared with our wonderful supporters who were finally able to return to the stadium to show their passion and support to us.

The league campaign ended differently to how we wanted it to. We went through a dip that unfortunately cost us in the final reckoning. In the last three seasons, we have finished one point off top in second, top and two points off top in second, with a title push until the last day that left a bitter taste in the mouth but that provided further confirmation of the consistency shown by the club in terms of being competitive towards the summit, as Inter’s history demands.

Last season, we got through the Champions League group stage to reach the round of 16 in the Champions League, something the club had not attained in 10 years. We put ourselves back on the European map and continued to grow as a team, as evidenced by our victory over Liverpool at Anfield, which provided a confidence boost for the squad and gave us all the more conviction in terms of the work that we are doing.

Last season was also enriched by the crowning of our Primavera team’s tenth Scudetto title. Inter are the first club in Italy to have earned a historic first star. Our youth academy therefore confirmed why it is the pride and joy of our club, a cutting-edge production line where our young players are forged to become men first and footballers second. It is a strategic resource, both in economic and sporting terms.

Inter Women, a project in which the club is showing more and more ambition, continued down the pathway that we had planned for the team and it is now bringing positive results this season. I am convinced that our women’s team will provide us with many happy moments in the near future.

ENGAGING WITH INSTITUTIONS

On an institutional level, the club is aware of the important role that it plays within the context of Italian and international football, along with the responsibility of representing millions of supporters, and has held a constant, collaborative dialogue with political and sporting institutions regarding key topics, such as enhancing product resources, containing working costs to promote a reliable tax deferral mechanism, rebalancing national and international sporting calendars in order to protect clubs and players, and boosting infrastructure.

In addition to these structural and economic matters, which were made more urgent because of the difficulties experienced in the post-pandemic period, our presence within the world of institutions looks to develop social trends that aim to involve and entice new generations to enjoy and play the best sport in the world. This requires huge commitment in order to develop dedicated infrastructure systems and a rebalancing of the social role of sport within our education system.

Inter are particularly focused on combining youngsters’ sporting commitments with their education. Last season, our club completed the Suning Youth Centre and Inter College, which are purpose-built for the players at our academy in order for them to develop as footballers while completing their study pathway.

THE NEW SEASON

With the self-belief and pride from restoring success at Inter and qualifying for the Champions League group stage for the fifth year in a row, we embarked on the mission of building the squad for the 2022/23 season with the same dual objective of maintaining sporting competitiveness at the very highest level and continuing to seek financial stability.

With this in mind, targeted major incoming and outgoing operations were completed in line with the parameters that we had set for ourselves. I would like to congratulate our Chief Sport Officer Piero Ausilio and everyone involved in the sporting areaon a wonderful job.

We have strengthened the squad to ensure Simone Inzaghi has multiple solutions and more scope to make choices, bearing in mind that this is an anomaly of a season due to the long break caused by the World Cup.

The arrival of Andre Onana, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Francesco Acerbi and the thrilling return of Romelu Lukaku have strengthened the squad and added international experience, while bringing in talented youngsters such as Kristjan Asllani and Raoul Bellanova ensures that solid foundations are being laid with an eye on the future.

I would like to reiterate my most heartfelt thanks to our owners and President Steven Zhang, who continue to support us. I would stress once again how their support has been unwavering, as seen by the continual ploughing of significant financial resources into the club over the years for the good of Inter and the millions of supporters across the globe.

TARGETS AND CONCLUSIONS

The other night, we experienced another memorable evening together while celebrating the fact that the team had reached the Champions League round of 16 for the second time in a row, having navigated a group in which everyone thought we were underdogs. I would once again like to congratulate Simone Inzaghi and all the players on this magnificent achievement.

Accomplishments such as the head-to-head against Barcelona honour our history and traditions: this is our Inter.

This is the strength of a team that does not want to set any limits and that wants to approach the journey that lies ahead in the league with self-belief and a desire to keep winning. We hope to continue with the Italian Super Cup, which we will once again be taking part in this year - an enticing showdown with Milan in Saudi Arabia in January.

Finally, I would like to thank all of you shareholders for your support, passion and love for our club. I bid you farewell while reassuring you of my renewed commitment to keep doing everything possible to provide you with more happy moments to build on the trophies won in the last two years and more memorable nights like Wednesday evening.