Marotta: ‘Calhanoglu has not asked to leave Inter yet’

epa11713695 Inter Milan’s Hakan Calhanoglu celebrates afer scoring the 1-1 goal during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Inter and Napoli at Giuseppe Meazza stadium in Milan, Italy, 10 November 2024. EPA-EFE/NICOLA MARFISI

Inter President Beppe Marotta has tried to calm the tension around Hakan Calhanoglu’s desire to join Galatasaray after Lautaro Martinez’s strong message. ‘We have not spoken to him yet.’

The Nerazzurri were eliminated from the FIFA Club World Cup in the Round of 16 this evening with a 2-0 defeat to Fluminense.

It has however been overshadowed by the angry statements in the post-match interviews from captain Lautaro Martinez, who seemed to very clearly lash out at teammate Calhanoglu.

“I am not going to name names. We are here to give our all, but I saw many things I did not like. I am captain, I am the leader of the group, so I have to speak up,” he told DAZN.

“The message is clear: those who want to stay and continue challenging for important trophies can do so, otherwise, goodbye.”

Marotta open on Calhanoglu situation

While he is not naming names, Inter President Marotta is not going to shy away from the situation and spoke very openly to DAZN.

“These are the words of a captain, who underlined some eternal truths, which is that when a player no longer wants to be there, it is only right that he goes,” said Marotta.

“As of today, nobody has expressly told us that he wanted to leave. I imagine this was referring to Calhanoglu, who we will talk to and resolve the situation in the best way for everyone.”

The Turkish midfielder did not participate at all in the Club World Cup, as he was carrying an injury since international duty.

Has Marotta seen a lack of effort or desire from Calhanoglu lately?

“We must always thank him for what he has done. The transfer window officially starts tomorrow and there are bound to be some strong positions taken.

“So far, he has not manifested anything to us directly, but we are ready to listen to him and to others. For now, nobody has told us they want to leave.

“It is understandable that the batteries are running low after a long season.”

Marotta also spoke to Sport Mediaset and again openly mentioned that this was about Calhanoglu.

“We must not blame Calhanoglu. We haven’t spoken to him yet, we will do over the next few weeks. If we decide to take different paths, we will do that, but we are not there yet.”

The issue seems to be that while Inter are happy to let Calhanoglu join Galatasaray, they are not prepared to drop below his fair asking price, which should be around €30m.

While there has been much talk of how much he wants to make this move, there has been no formal offer to Inter.