The final of the 2025 Champions League will remain as one of the most painful episodes in the recent history of Inter. Faced with a sparkling PSG, the Nerazzurri sank 5-0 in Münich, an unprecedented humiliation in the final of the competition. This without appeal score highlighted the limits of a group, however solid, but obviously out of breath, both physically and mentally. The Italian press was ruthless: “tactical rout”, “collective collapse”, and above all, “disconcerting match management of Simone Inzaghi”. This reverse marked a rocking point. Despite the titles won in recent years under the leadership of Inzaghi (a Scudetto, two cups of Italy, three supercups), the Inter has entered a crisis of confidence, both in the locker room and in the high ruling spheres. The rupture was already latent, but this European slap has precipitated the outcome. And a few days after the final, Inzaghi's departure was formalized “By mutual agreement” Between the two parties. A diplomatic term that badly masks discomfort.
Rumors quickly intensify: the agreement between the coach and Al Hilal would have been concluded before the Champions League final, which Inzaghi will recognize in a half-time interview with the World Cup. He claims to have made the decision “With rested head” after “Given everything he could at Inter”, While adding that the official announcement had only been made after the Münich final “Out of respect for the club and the competition”. The contract is royal: two years with a salary estimated at 25 million euros per season, a sum that the Inter could obviously not match. If the choice of a departure to the Gulf is understandable from a personal point of view, it is the timing of this commitment which makes teeth cringe in Milan. Internally, some Inter executives would have learned the news from the day before the final, which would have contributed to the general demobilization of the team.
The ax of war is not buried!
President Giuseppe Marotta, an influential figure of the club, spoke since the stage of the World Cups, where the Inter of Cristian Chivu is trying to begin his reconstruction. During an exchange at the microphone of DAZNMarotta said with a feigned calm: “We are not how some things, everyone knows what they have done. What matters is to open a new cycle. »» A heavy sentence of innuendo, which suggests that the departure of Inzaghi has left a bitter taste. Behind the scenes, the version of the leaders is clear: they believe they were kept away from the negotiations between their coach and Al Hilal, which, in a moment as crucial as a Champions League final, is moral fault. The fact that Inzaghi has kept silent until after the rout against PSG is perceived as an attempt to extricate discreetly, without assuming the psychological consequences on the workforce. “”If this is the price to pay for four years at Inter, I am happy to do so. I received much more than I gave: supporters, managers, players. I know everything will miss everything, even the most unjust criticisms“Concluded Inzaghi. This feeling of betrayal is all the stronger since Marotta and Ausilio had supported Inzaghi even in the most critical moments of the previous seasons.
The heart of the conflict is based on a fundamental question: has the prematurely acted departure of Inzaghi sabotaged the preparation of the final? If no direct accusation has been made, several former players, on condition of anonymity in the columns of the Gazzetta dello Sportmentioned “A strange atmosphereAs the match approaches. Some claim that the latest workouts lacked intensity and that the staff seemed “Mentally elsewhere”. Inzaghi, in his defense, insisted that he had “Prepared the final like all the others”but his explanations do not convince everyone. The confidence between him and the management was obviously broken well before the start of the final. For tifosi, the discomfort is palpable: if they recognize the contributions of the technician-especially in the matches with direct elimination-they now criticize the ex-coach for having favored his personal interests at the expense of an institution which supported him flawless. The club has already turned the page, by entrusting the reins to Cristian Chivu. But the shadow of this poorly managed separation is likely to weigh on the future relationships between Inter and its coaches.
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