Inter director Giuseppe Marotta has confirmed salary is the current issue as the club attempts to negotiate a new contract for striker Lautaro Martinez.
The Argentine has established himself as one of the best strikers on the planet since joining from Racing in 2018, scoring 129 goals in 282 appearances across all competitions for the club so far.
Martinez has fired Inter to two Serie A and Coppa Italia titles, as well as the 2023 Champions League final and 2020 Europa League final.
Earlier this week, Martinez’s agent, Alejandro Camano, publicly affirmed his client’s loyalty to Inter, but insisted he will require better terms to remain at the San Siro beyond the two years left on his current deal.
“The Nerazzurri have recently changed to a new ownership. So, I guess they have to sort out their internal issues. We’ll see each other then, as always. They’re a club I love, Lautaro feels 100% an integral part of them,” said Camano.
“He still has two years left on his contract, this means there are two years left on his contract to define the situation. Until 2026 only Inter can make the decision to sell him. At the moment he is super happy with the current contract until 2026.”
Marotta ‘confident’ Martinez will sign new Inter deal
CEO Marotta has confirmed the two parties are currently negotiating Martinez’s salary and that disagreements over this figure are perfectly normal. Talks have slowed somewhat as Inter transition from Steven Zhang’s Suning to Oaktree as their new owners.
“When you negotiate with players, that [the salary] is always the issue,” Marotta said (via Football Italia).
“Talks have not been put on hold, but clearly, we had to slow down a little because bureaucratic aspects are coming from the transition from one owner to another.
“Indeed, we are confident because the player strongly wants to continue with us and this is a principle that safeguards any possible negotiation.”